Dog
by QueenOfTheUniverse
Summary: What if Angela went missing during the final battle at Praetorian HQ? What if Liz Marx was still wanted by the FBI? Can Jacob bring home the real Angela Bennett after years of torture? Or is she fated to be Liz Marx for the rest of her life? total 12ch.
1. Chapter 1

The Net: Dog: Chapter 1

A/N: A different ending to the tv show. What if Angela was lost after the battle at Praetorian Headquarters? For three years. And what if Elizabeth Marx was still wanted by the FBI, by Jacob's new boss? He would do anything, even risk losing his job with the CIC to find Angela. But can he bring back the real Angela from years of torture or is she fated to be Liz Marx for the rest of her life? WARNING: this is a tragedy. Angela may never be the same again, mentally, after what happens here. It's not pretty. Wrist slashing, rape, beatings, and other bad things are mentioned. You have been warned. If you don't want to read it, that's fine, you can stop here. Comments are appreciated. Constructive criticism is helpful for me as a writer, but flames are not. Thanks! And enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

"_We're putting you on an old case," _Jacob remembered his boss saying as he walked down the sidewalk of the small town. _"You've probably heard of her: Elizabeth Marx, the computer terrorist. She's still on the run from the police, pops up every now and again in some internet chat room and then disappears before anyone can trace her. However, with your computer skills, I'm hoping you can bring her in. Not only that, but I think you could be charming enough to entice her in willingly if need be." _

It had been three years since he'd heard that name, since she'd disappeared. So many bodies had come out of that travel agency. So many without life. And even though Walter Cizelski had taken him in, given him a job working for the FBI, he wasn't allowed to see who any of the bodies belonged to. And no one had mentioned Angela at all. He couldn't see the case files because he'd been involved in the case personally. So whether she'd just disappeared or died Jacob didn't know, until Walter had brought up Liz Marx, unaware that the two were one and the same.

Jacob had been sending out coded messages for the past few months that only Angela could read. Only one response had told him she was alive. Nothing more. Yet someone was searching for Sorcerer. Had been for three years. The trail this person left, however, was not Angela's trail. Even if she was trying to hide from someone else, he would recognize her hand print on the searches. Though no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't decode them to determine who it was. Until now. At first the search beacon was strong with no tracks at all. But it was weakening over time, leading Jacob to this small rural town in the middle of Illinois that looked more like something out of an old western with Clint Eastwood. They didn't even have a police station, let alone a hospital or a fire house.

A quick flash of his badge in the country store had brought him some answers, even if they were strange.

"I haven't seen it, but they say it's evil! That it'll eat you in your sleep!" one elderly man said.

"When I said 'anything odd' I didn't mean ghost stories for children," the FBI Agent corrected.

"No! Tain't no ghost story!" a woman exclaimed. "They keep it chained up like a dog. So's it won't hurt no one."

"Where?"

"Up on the hill. But don't go up there! Please, Mister! It will kill you!"Children's stories. That's all it was. But he'd go up there and see for himself anyway. What he was looking for wasn't in this backwater town even if the codes had led him here.

✢

News had spread fast about this strange man going to see the evil creature chained on the hill. Men, women, and children lined the streets as he walked past. The women crossed themselves and kept the children back, who stared up at him in awe.

"You're crazy," the men said. "You're gonna die up there and we ain't gonna come after ya if'n ya call for help."

Jacob only nodded and continued down the street towards the old dirt road leading up the hill. When he'd arrived at the top he found a large, well-kept stone mansion that looked so out of place from the western town belowBehind the mansion there was a large dog chained to a pole in the ground. From a distance it appeared to be curled up in a ball, enjoying a late-afternoon nap in the sun. Was this what the townspeople were so afraid of? Jacob let out a small laugh and turned to head back to town when a familiar voice caught his ear.

"Elizabeth!"

He turned to see someone yank on the chain. The dog slowly stood up. On two feet. Jacob stopped laughing and stared as he realized it was a woman. The man took the chain off the thick collar around her neck and attached a leash before they went inside. He was shocked out of his mind, unable to move. So this was what the locals were afraid of? She hadn't looked scary, but why chain her up if she wasn't?

He'd come here on business, searching for Elizabeth Marx. He'd also come for personal reasons, to find Angela Bennett. That had been a woman, he'd called her Elizabeth. That voice had been familiar too. But he couldn't place it.

"And who might you be, wandering this far from town?"

Jacob jumped clear out of his skin at the sudden voice and whipped around to see Mr. Olivier, once a higher-up in the Praetorian ranks. With trembling knees, Jacob thanked God none of them knew who he was.

"Didn't mean to scare you there," Mr. Olivier said, leaning on his cane.

He didn't seem overly evil just then, but he wasn't smiling either.

"No, no, it's ok," Jacob worked the puzzle in his mind. "I'm looking for work, actually."

"You are, are you?"

Jacob bit back the fear rising within him.

This man was supposed to be dead. Died at the home he'd been sent to in order to deal with his alcohol problems. And if he wasn't dead, then who else wasn't?

"What's your name?"

"Um, Jones Davey."

"Well, Jones, you just call me Mr. Olivier. Maybe we can work something out. What line of work are you interested in?"

"Anything really. My mom kicked me out and I've got nothing," he said, playing off of the fact that he still looked young enough to be a teenager.

"Ah, well then follow me, lad. We'll find ya something I'm sure."

Entering the mansion, Jacob saw a grand old place turned technological with hand print readers at nearly every door. In his mind he went over the ways to get around retinal scans and hand print readers. Mr. Olivier left him alone in a small room to talk to the higher-ups.

The place wreaked of Praetorians, no matter how old fashioned this room looked with its fireplace, couch, end table, and two matching chairs. He'd pushed his biggest fear to the back of his mind, too afraid to even think it, least it come true. But he knew it was. The Praetorians weren't dead by whatever luck they possessed and Angela hadn't been able to change her identity back. He'd found Elizabeth Marx and as much as he was glad he'd found her, he was also afraid for her. If they'd been keeping her this long chained like a dog...His Angel, treated like...He had to put those thoughts out of his mind. Elizabeth was here now, trapped and he was here to get her out. To bring Angela home.

He slipped his badge down his pants so that it wouldn't be found. These were the Praetorians and they would take no chances. The door opened and both Mr. White and Sean Trelawney came in followed by Mr. Olivier.

"Did you check him out?" Mr. White asked, looking back towards Sean.

"I found nothing."

Jacob was glad the alias he'd created for his last case was working quite well. All three men looked him over for a few seconds before he stood up and introduced himself.

"Hi, Jones Davey. And you are?" he stuck out his hand.

"Mr. White, Mr. Trelawney, and you've already met Mr. Olivier." The Praetorian leader did not return the handshake. "Our janitor just quit. You take the job and you get a room. Small. But you won't need much. And you won't be able to leave the grounds. Ever. You will have no contact outside and whatever you see here stays here. Got it?"

"I got it and I'm in."

Mr. White turned to Sean, "pat him down and show him what to do."

Trelawney nodded as the other two left the room. "You look familiar," Sean said as Jacob allowed him to search for weapons.

"I don't know why cause I've certainly never seen you before," Jacob said, getting an odd sensation from having his arch enemy pat him down. The enemy he hadn't seen in three years and had not expected to see ever again. How the hell were they all still alive?! "Though I've been told I have a memorable face."

Once pronounced clean, Sean lead him out of the room. The place was huge with a maze of hallways and rooms. The walls were a dark wood paneling, the furniture was all dark wood, and any thing else was a dark green. Dark, dark, dark. It was all dark.

"So, what group is this? What's your name? Who do you belong to?" Jacob asked.

Sean looked rather annoyed at having been given this chore as he turned and said "We're an elite government agency. That's all you need to know."

"Ah, the secrecy bit. I get it."

Sean showed him his room which was so tiny it could only hold a twin bed and a night stand. Only slightly bigger than a closet.

"I certainly hope you're not claustrophobic," Sean grinned.

After showing him where all the bathrooms and livingrooms were that he'd have to clean Sean took him up to the third floor.

"Whatever you see here, stays here. Got it?" Jacob nodded as Sean pointed towards two closed doors at one end of the wide hallway. "And you do not, I repeat, DO NOT go through those doors. You do, and you're dead."

"Um, yeah, got it."

"The only time you ever come up here is to clean out the dog's cage."

"Dog?"

"Yes. Over here."

Sean moved a painting of flowers to reveal a small red button high up on the wall. Pushing that button, a bit of dark wood paneling rose to reveal a jail cell-like door leading into a small room, smaller than his. A thin, old pillow and two old blankets covered the floor. The back wall was already lifted to reveal a tile floor and what looked like a toilet from Jacob's vantage point.

The sound of a long electric shock and someone moaning made the FBI agent turn towards the double doors as they slammed open against the walls. A woman was on her knees. Mr. White was behind her and he pushed her out into the hall. She fell forward and Jacob was able to see a thick metal collar around her neck.

"Get back to your room!"

Jacob gasped as she stumbled to her feet. _Angel!_ She was so thin and her neck was red and raw where the collar had dug into her skin. As she scrambled towards him and the dog's kennel he saw her eyes no longer bright and welcoming but clouded over, showing a person who'd shut down and shut everyone out.

Sean grabbed Jacob's shoulder and pulled him away as he pressed the red button again. The bars rose into the wall and she slipped into the kennel.

"Wait! She's the dog?!"

"You didn't see that Davey."

"I need an explanation here!"

"She has a mental disorder. She identifies more with the dogs than us humans. Now, you'll want to start at the first floor and work your way up when you clean," Sean said, steering Jacob towards the stairs.

✢

That night Jacob lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Flashes of Angela so thin he could see her ribs through her soiled nightgown came flying at him whenever he attempted to close his eyes, and refused to go away. It made him sick to his stomach just thinking of what they had done to her and he didn't think it would ever go away, the sickness, the pictures, the thoughts. For the rest of his life he would remember what they did to her, how they treated her. Even if he was able to get her away from here and to safety. He would always remember, and he would always hate them for it. Always.


	2. Chapter 2

The Net: Dog: Chapter 2

Upon dunning the navy blue jump suit the next morning Jacob noticed deep, dark circles under his eyes.

"You can't afford the be scared of what you see here," Sean said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nor can you afford to lose any sleep. Now get cleaning. I'll be checking up on you throughout the day. You don't want to quit like the last guy."

"Yes sir," Jacob said, remembering his days in FBI training at Quantico.

Sean left and he began his cleaning, starting with the first bathroom on the first floor. With his mouth set in a grim line and his eyes almost glowing with hatred he cleaned everything until it sparkled in the light. He toiled all day, scrubbing and dusting.

By the time he'd reached the top floor it was already getting dark. He stood in front of the painting of flowers with a cleaning bucket by his side and a rag in his hand. Stepping forward he moved the painting and pushed the small red button. The dark wood paneling went up and the barred door remained.

Inside, Angela had curled herself into a tiny ball on top of both blankets. The moment she saw him she bolted to a corner farthest away from him. She regarded him carefully, never taking her eyes away from him.

A hand fell onto Jacob's shoulder and he was pushed to the floor. Mr. White stood there, a cross expression on his face as he put the paneling back down.

"You must always ask for permission before you clean that. You must not have any contact with her at all. Now, go down to the kitchen and get your dinner. When you come back up she will be gone and you can clean. Go."

Jacob turned and went to the kitchen as instructed, anger welling up in his heart. How could they treat her like that? How could they? The cook put a bowl and a spoon in front of him as he continued to cook a chop of lamb for the dinning room table. When he was done eating the gruel, Jacob washed the bowl and spoon and put them away as instructed by the cook.

✢

The wood paneling and the metal bars were both up, revealing an empty place. Jacob pushed a bucket of soapy water in and crawled after it. Nothing here had been cleaned in a long time. He did his best to ignore that fact as he scrubbed away at the blood stains covering the tiny bathroom floor, sink, and toilet. There was nothing else in the room besides a small cake of soap. Not even a hand towel. The blankets and pillow case were so dirty Jacob tossed them out into the hallway while he scrubbed the walls and floor of the tiny sleeping area. He then took the dirty blankets and pillow case to the laundry room and selected fresh laundry to replace the old. He met Sean Trelawney at Angela's cage, but ignored his loathsome presence as he got down on his hands and knees to take the blankets inside and make up her "bed".

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sean asked. "Her blankets are blue and those are pink!"

"The old ones were dirty so I put them in the laundry."

"Well, I don't care if they were dirty! Go back and get them!"

Jacob got up and went. When he came back with the dirty laundry Sean was still there, watching him get back on his hands and knees. As Jacob pushed the laundry in, Sean hit the red button, making the metal bars go down onto his wrist.

Jacob cried out as he was pinned and a considerable weight was attempting to crush his bones.

"I think, Jones, that you really ought to quit. Because you're still doing it wrong! What are you trying to do?"

"Just making her bed."

"She can make it herself!"

Sean hit the button a few more times before the bars let Jacob's wrist go and it was already purple and puffy. A severe kick from Trelawney sent him flying down the stairs. Hitting the wall with a sickening crunch he got back on his feet. He heard shuffling behind Sean as the goon watched him.

"Get your bucket and get out of here."

The wood paneling was already back down when he reached the top of the stairs. A small patch of soiled blue blanket had caught under the paneling and was being tugged on from the inside.

With downcast eyes Jacob grabbed the cleaning bucket and returned to his room. He sat down heavily on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands as tears slipped down his face, soaking his shirt.

✢

Hours later, eyes red-rimmed and his wrist still throbbing, he got out of bed and snuck back upstairs to face the flowers. Raising both the paneling and the bars he saw her scurry into a corner.

"Angel! Come on, let's get out of here!"

She sat in the corner, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her. She didn't move or talk.

"Angel, it's me! Come on, we've got to get out of here! Before they catch us!"

He started to crawl inside to help her out when she pulled her knees closer to her body to get as far away from him as possible. He stopped. Her eyes showed no recognition of him at all. Only fear.

"Angela?" he asked, in a softer voice. "Do you know who I am?"

She only stared at him. He could see how frail she was, how the thick metal collar dug into her skin, making her neck bleed. He wanted nothing other than to hug her, carry her out of this prison to safety and care for her and tell her everything would be alright. But she didn't know who he was.

Jacob crawled backwards until only his head was inside.

"I'm a friend," he said. "And I don't want to hurt you." He cringed at having to say these words to her. "I want to help you. Your name's not Elizabeth Marx. It's Angela Bennett. And I'm Jacob. Jacob Resh. Your friend. I can't stay long or they'll catch me. But I'll be back tomorrow night. I promise."

Seeing her there, pressed into the corner, afraid of him, afraid of her own shadow, pulled at his heart and made him want to kill those responsible for what had happened to her.

✢

Back in his room he had a hard time sleeping again. He knew he would have to take things slow with her, gain her trust over time. And during this time he could figure out a way to kill the Praetorians once and for all, and save Angela from this horrid life.

The next day Jacob flew through his work, ignoring Sean who always seemed to be standing over his shoulder. When dinner time came he ate the food quickly and on his way out stole an apple and a roll.

✢

When he opened the paneling and the bars that night after everyone had gone to bed Angela had once again curled up into the corner. Jacob tossed both the apple and the roll in as peace offerings and as extra food in her small diet.

"You know I've been searching for you for three years," he said while she grabbed the food and nearly inhaled them both. "I wish I could have saved you that day, Angel. You don't know the agony I've been in since you disappeared, trying to find you. Do you remember life before you came here?" he asked, wondering if she'd forgotten that as well as him.

She'd finished eating and sat huddled in the corner, looking at him but with only the remembrance of seeing him the night before in her eyes. Nothing more.

"Well, you were once a great computer programmer who'd taken a homeless woman, Tilly, off the street and given her a job and a place to stay. But then I came along and sent you a message you weren't supposed to see. But you only knew me as Sorcerer back then."

At the mention of his online identity Angela's demeanor changed. She recognized the name.

"You know about Sorcerer?" Jacob asked, clueless as to why she'd remember Sorcerer and not the man behind the online mask.

But she wasn't going to tell him anything and Jacob was worried the Praetorians had done something to make sure she couldn't talk. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought.

"Did they do something to you? Can you talk? Please talk to me Angel!"

When she didn't respond he said, "Angel, I love you, and I would do anything for you."

"Go away," her voice was hoarse and weak, but he heard it.

He smiled through his tears and thanked God she could still talk. And then thought over the words he'd just told her. And he knew they were true. Deep down inside his heart, he loved her. He wasn't risking his job in the FBI for nothing. Looking up at Angela he saw that she had grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her up to her chin.

"Angel, I love you. And if I lose my job for saving you then so be it. You're more important to me than any job. Than anything. Look, I've got to go. But I'll be back tomorrow night. OK?"

When she only stared at him he got up and put the paneling back down. Heading back to his room he thought about how he would break her out. He would have to change her identity first then get her out. But in order to change her identity he would have to find the main computer. Which meant he would have to gain clearance to the secure areas of the mansion.

✢

A week later he was able to enter her cage while she sat in the corner and ate the food he'd brought her. He'd gotten close, but as he reached out to touch her face she shrank away from him. He took his hand away, a hurt look on his face. He talked to her about nothing important. Just talked in as gentle a voice as he could manage. And when he left he made sure to tell her he loved her, even if she didn't understand him.

✢

"Ah, so you must be the new janitor I heard they hired to replace Jack," Jacob heard one night while he was eating his dinner.

He turned to see a tall skinny guy grabbing a plate and loading it with food. The man sat down and shook hands with Jacob. He was bald, but looked a little more respectable than everyone else Jacob knew to be there.

"I am," he replied. "Name's Jones. And who might you be?"

"Oh, I'm the other janitor. James."

Jacob stared at him in surprise.

"What? You mean there's two of us? And they don't split up the work more evenly?"

"Only I'm authorized to view what goes on behind closed doors. A lot of times I have to clean up blood and things. I get the harder, dirtier projects."

"Blood?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Mostly it's just dusting and moping."

✢

Over the next few nights Jacob became closer to Angela. He brought her his whole dinner, preferring to go hungry rather than watching her starve.

His stomach growled as she shoveled food into her mouth with her fingers, ignoring the silverware that had fallen to the floor. She looked up at him while she kept eating.

He nodded towards the food. "That's my dinner. You'll have to pardon my stomach."

She stopped eating, her hands dropping to her lap.

"Eat, eat," he said. "I've got to take that plate back before they notice it's gone."

She lowered her eyes and began eating again, this time more slowly.

✢

With James, Jacob learned to get up early for the good food. They would eat breakfast together and whoever was the first to the kitchen would do the cooking. While they ate, and while he cleaned the mansion, an idea began to form in Jacob's mind. Even though he wasn't allowed access to certain parts of the place, he was learning his way around, listening in on conversations earned him a lot of information about what went on behind closed doors. He knew he had to find away into the room where they kept taking Angela when she wasn't in her cage or chained up outside like a dog.

As he spent long hours dusting the railing near the top floor he heard the cries and the moans of pain behind the closed double doors. They were hurting her everyday. And everyday the other janitor would be called in to clean something up. It broke Jacob's heart to hear those sounds and to know they were coming from Angela, but at least they gave him a plan to get back there.

✢

"Why don't you hit me...like they do?"

Jacob had been sitting beside Angela while she inhaled his dinner. Her voice startled him. He looked up and she was watching him, holding half a roll in her hand.

"They hit you?"

She put the roll back on the plate and lifted her dirty white shirt to reveal black and blue marks all over her upper body.

Jacob was speechless as he reached over to hug her, offer her some form of comfort, but she pulled away from him and curled herself up into the corner, hugging her knees.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "Angel, I would never hurt you. I love you."

She said nothing more. Only stayed in the corner.

Jacob looked at his watch and realized he'd already been there too long.

"I've got to go. But I promise, Angel, I'm going to get you out of here."

She said nothing so he left, taking the plate and leaving her the other half of the bread, which she didn't touch until the paneling was almost to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

The Net: Dog: Chapter 3

The next morning Jacob made sure he was up before both the cook and the second janitor. He began making eggs and toast and poured two glasses of orange juice before scouring the cabinets until he found what he was looking for: several different pain medications. Taking a pill from each bottle he dumped them into one of the glasses of juice, before setting the glasses on the table next to the food. He didn't have long to wait when the other janitor came in and sat down to breakfast. He gobbled down the food on his plate and gulped down his orange juice before leaving with Jacob to start the day's cleaning. Not even half an hour later Trelawney came downstairs, very irrate, to find Jacob cleaning a bathroom.

"We need you upstairs. Now," he said. "Leave this bathroom. There's a more important blood bath on the top floor. Get moving!"

Trelawney followed Jacob up every flight of stairs as he wondered who's blood had been spilled and where. Reaching the top floor he noticed that Angela's cage was open and she was gone. Jacob's muscles tightened and his heart began to pound. If they hurt her...if they did anything to her...

"Our doctor is busy with the other janitor pumping his stomach so you'll have to play doctor too," Trelawney said, taking the lead to the double doors he'd been forbidden to enter. "Turns out he's very sick. Lucky him."

Upon entering the rooms the first thing Jacob noticed was Angela on the floor in the center of the room sitting in a puddle of blood. Her knees were drawn up to her chest but she wasn't hugging them. She was hugging her right arm which was bleeding profusely. Her face only showed the amount of pain and fear she was in.

Jacob ran in and fell on the floor at her side. She slowly looked up as if she was expecting the doctor. But when she saw who it was, her features softened and she almost smiled. Jacob didn't dare talk to her at all as he gently reached over and took her right arm in his hands and looked closely at the blood.

"I need medical supplies!" Jacob barked at all the Praetorians standing above them, watching him work. "Now! And paper towels!"

Someone set a small kit beside him on the floor and a towel roll that was almost gone. He was gentle in his work, cleaning her wound as best as he could with the paper towels. This way he was able to get a clear view of what had happened to her to know how he should treat the wound. While her hand was in his, it felt like the Praetorians weren't there, standing around them. He lifted his eyes to see her watching his face, her eyes big and round, as if she was surprised at his gentleness.

The wound wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Though it did look a lot like a shallow knife wound. But once the blood was gone he had her bandaged up in no time.

"How did this happen?" he finally asked.

"Your job right now is to clean and patch, to make sure she stays alive for us. Not to ask questions," Trelawney answered.

"She better not die because of your stupid actions, Trelawney," Mr. White said, from his chair some distance away. "We still need her to tell us where and who Sorcerer is. No matter how long it takes."

So she'd been the one searching for him after all, searching under Praetorian rule. And that was why she remembered Sorcerer. But it didn't explain how she forgot about Jacob. Displeased by Sean's obvious actions, but unwilling to risk everything right then and there, Jacob kept his mouth shut, while he finished bandaging her arm. He was also glad to hear that last little tidbit about himself, to know that he was who they were really after and not Angela. And to think that Sorcerer was in their midst already and they had no clue! Jacob would have laughed out loud if they hadn't been there.

Thinking back to Angela, he knew he'd begun to win her trust the moment she'd let him take her arm. Although what choice did she have with the Praetorians there anyway. They'd said they wanted her alive, no matter what. They wouldn't let her bleed to death, even if it would mean she wouldn't be in any more pain.

When he was done she was whisked away back to her cage and he was left to clean up the pool of blood on the floor, as he furtively cased his surroundings.

Along one wall was a row of computers. In the opposite corner sat an elevated desk, rounded outward with a computer facing a large padded swivel office chair. One look told Jacob that was the computer he would need when it came time to break Angela out.

✢

That night as Jacob lay in bed unable to sleep he knew he couldn't let Angela suffer any more. They had already beat her and cut her, he wouldn't, he couldn't, allow it to go on any longer. He had to break her out.

During his work as janitor he'd watched Sean and the others carefully enter the code and press their hand against the palm reader to enter each room. The computer in his mind told him just how he could disable one of them to disable them all. There would be no alarm on any door so Jacob could walk freely throughout the mansion. And just before he and Angela left, he would reset every alarm to a different tune. Lock every Praetorian inside. The fire he had planned for the kitchen stove would handle the rest. It would be a piece of cake if it all went well.

But Jacob knew he couldn't wait any longer. He knew they were hurting her, and it was hurting him. Letting it happen while he desperately planned an elaborate escape and got to know more of the mansion would only give him more and more guilt than he already had. He thought he had a fool-proof plan, but what if it backfired? He felt he needed a backup plan. But that would take time. Time he didn't want to waste.

He knew now that when they broke into the original Praetorian Headquarters in New York City that they should have had a backup plan. They should have had some way to communicate. Maybe then she wouldn't have disappeared into the hands of the Praetorians for three years.

Jacob got up and put on his own clothes, slipping his CIC badge into his pocket, and left the room. His first stop was to the first alarm system he came to on his way towards the kitchen. Pulling the cover off he pulled a few wires and mixed them up, resetting them in new places. The alarm went dead within seconds, allowing him to open the door without a problem. The next alarm he came to was already dead, proving he'd successfully knocked them all out at once.

Entering the kitchen he knew he wouldn't have much time as he searched the cupboards looking for the vegetable oil. When he found it, he began dumping it over the floor on his way to the gas stove in the far corner. He dumped it all over the stove and turned each burner on high before making a run for it. Now he would have to hurry.

He dashed up the stairs, past Angela's cage, and into the large room where he'd treated her wound earlier. There was a hand gun sitting on the desk next to the computer. Checking to make sure it was loaded, he slid it into the back pocket of his jeans incase he needed it later. Pulling up the screen he was almost surprised to find Angela's record up on the screen already. Someone had been staring at her picture for a long time. This just made things that much easier for him. Jacob grinned as he threw in computer codes and gained access to her files. He changed her identity back to Angela Marie Bennett, but then stopped.

He knew they'd done horrible things to her. She wasn't the same person anymore, and he doubted she ever would be again. She would need someone to look after her. He couldn't leave her alone, and what if Walter, his boss, found her. He wouldn't believe Jacob about the Praetorians changing her identity. He'd see her only as Elizabeth Marx, no one else.

He went back to her name and gave her a new last name to protect her at all costs. Sliding the cursor down to "relatives" he typed: "Last surviving relatives: one brother, Jacob Gabriel Resh." He knew he loved her more than a brother should, but he was willing to do whatever it took to ensure her safety.

Saving her file, he deleted it from the screen, only to find his own picture staring back at him underneath hers. Below was his real name and his rank as an FBI agent. They'd found him out. But it didn't matter anymore. As of tonight they would all be dead. They couldn't kill him. Not when Angela was still alive and still needed his help. Opening his file he quickly added in Angela Marie Bennett Resh as his one surviving sister and saved it.

Time was running out and he knew it. He could feel the heat from the fire already, though he wasn't sure if that was just his nerves kicking in or if it was real. Either way, he needed to hurry. Sliding open Sean Trelawney's desk drawer he found what he was looking for buried in the back. A key. A small key, he knew went to the collar Angela wore around her neck.

Running out of the room towards her cage to finally set her free, he was stopped in his tracks by the couple coming up the stairs. His eyes went wide and his hands began to shake. It was Sean with his hand on Angela's shoulder. She had fresh bruises on her face and she was walking slowly, as if the monster had hurt her in other places as well. Jacob knew, without having to ask, what had happened. Sean was in his pajamas. She was hurt. There was no need for interrogations.


	4. Chapter 4

The Net: Dog: Chapter 4

"Ah, Agent Resh. I assume you've figured everything out, have you? Think you can get away with her? Save your bonnie lass? Eh?"

Jacob was thankful that the Praetorians slept further away from the kitchens. Sean had no clue the mansion was burning down as he spoke. And he wouldn't know until it was too late.

"So you know who I am," Jacob said. "What's it to you? If you kill me, someone will come looking for me, you know."

"I've got FBI clearance. I can easily get rid of you without anyone suspecting a thing."

Jacob noticed that Angela wasn't even crying. She hardly seemed affected by what had obviously occurred between she and Sean. That only served to let Jacob know this wasn't the first time, and he shuddered at the thought of what the man had been doing while he had her for three whole years.

"Well, perhaps it would please you to know that I was sent here to arrest Liz Marx in the first place," Jacob tried.

"Yes, that you were, I'm sure. But that's not the real reason you came. You have personal involvement in her case. You wouldn't turn her into the FBI. That's why we were brought in, to capture her and make sure she didn't escape again."

"That doesn't work for me, Sean Trelawney. I know all about the Praetorian Guard. You're not real FBI. You were never RCMP, or any cop for that matter."

"Hmmm, yes, I thought you might. Being Sorcerer and all. Of course, you were the one we were after all along. And we knew you'd do anything to get her back. We knew you'd show up for her. And now we've got you."

"That's only what you want to think. You don't have me, Trelawney. You only wish you did."

Regaining composure, Jacob reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the hand gun he'd grabbed from Sean's desk and grinned. The poor man in his pajamas wasn't carrying a weapon on him. Jacob watched the man's eyes widen as he inched to the wall, his hand still on Angela's shoulder, and reach for the closest alarm system. Without looking at it, he punched a code into the keypad, probably alerting everyone of his imminent danger. When nothing happened he glanced at the system and did a double take.

"Yes, Sean, I am smarter than you think. The alarm systems are all dead. Not only that, but I think you'll find, if you go down to the kitchen a fire is well under way. You're all going to die here, whether you want to or not, while Angela and I make our escape."

Trelawney's eyes went wider with fear.

"Let her go."

The Praetorian's grasp loosened on her shoulder. Jacob motioned for her to come to his side. She left Trelawney, and walked slowly to Jacob. While Jacob was happy, nearly elated that she'd willingly switched sides to join him, he knew she was only following orders.

"Get down on your knees," Jacob instructed Trelawney. "Hands behind your head."

Sean did as he was told, though with a slight chuckle. "What, you're going to arrest me? What good is that going to do? I've got contacts. I'll get out of it slicker than a whistle."

"I wasn't planning on arresting you," Jacob put the muzzle of the gun to the back of his head. "I was planning on sending you to hell."

He pulled the trigger once and watched as his enemy fell to the floor in a heap. Thrusting the weapon back into his pocket, he turned to find Angela curled up in a ball on the floor, tucked as far as she could into the corner. Already he could smell smoke and knew this time it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

"Come on, Angel, we need to get out of here," he spoke soothingly to her, as he approached her.

She pulled away from him, staring at him in fear. She didn't know him anymore. And in his attempts to reacquaint her with who he was, he'd left out the fact that he'd had FBI training. He could handle weapons, he could arrest people. He wasn't exactly the Jacob she'd remember.

"Angel, I promise, I'm not going to hurt you. I changed your identity back. The cops can't touch you now."

Falling to his knees beside her, he felt hot tears sliding down his face.

"I've spent all this time looking for you. I know the FBI wants to arrest you as Liz Marx. But they can't. You're not her, and I won't let them. Angel, I..." he knew he had to tell her the truth about her new identity. He couldn't leave that out, like he'd left out his training earlier. "I put you in as my sister. I can take care of you that way. Make sure no one hurts you ever again. I love you. Please, Angel, just believe me. You've got to believe me!"

Smoke was starting to billow up the staircase, and he knew the fire was spreading faster and faster as he spoke.

"You have to come with me. I'm not leaving here without you. Even if it kills me."

Angela looked from the smoke to Jacob and back again.

"Please!" he begged.

She looked up into his worried eyes, and slowly reached her arms out to him. Relief flooded Jacob's veins as he picked her up into his arms and held her close. Dashing down the smoke filled stairs he wished he'd also had firefighter training as well. The second floor was already wreathed in flames. The main stairs were crumbling between the second and the first floors. Changing direction Jacob ran for the back staircase near his tiny closet of a bedroom. They were filled with smoke, but no flames yet. He charged down them and stopped in his tracks.

There was no way he was going to get through without getting burned. The floor was covered in flames. But he had to get through, he had to get Angela out of there, and he had to find an alarm system to lock everyone else in, to ensure their death. He pulled Angela closer to him and tried to cover her face as he ran through the fire to the closest door.

He could feel the heat breaking his skin open, as he did his best to protect Angela. Reaching the door after what seemed like forever, Jacob pulled the cover off the alarm system, and rewired it before the fire had a chance to reach that far. He slipped through the front door just as the fresh oxygen reinvigorated the fire and it burst after him until the door shut and locked behind him. Reaching the main gate, he disarmed the gate's separate alarm system and escaped with Angela, hearing the screams of the Praetorian Guard as they woke to the sound of the roaring fire, and the smoke filling their bedrooms.

Standing a long distance away Jacob set Angela down and wrapped his arms around her as they watched the mansion burn together. Tears slipped down his face and dripped onto her shoulder. They'd done horrible things to her. They'd killed the Angela he knew. But she was free of them now. Free to start her life over again. And he would be with her every step of the way.

Once he was sure there was no possible way a single Praetorian could escape the eternal fires of hell he'd thrown them into, he took Angela's shoulders in his hands and turned her around to face him. Her eyes were big and sad. But also scared, as if she had no clue what was in store for her next. The place that had been her home for three years, the place she'd never left, had just been destroyed and she was outside the gate standing with a man she hardly knew.

"I've got the key, to take that collar off," he whispered, as if she would bolt and run away if he spoke any louder.

She stood there, without saying a word, letting him take charge of her, of her life, of her body, because that was what she was used to for the last three years. She'd forgotten everything else. This was what she knew. If Jacob took down the Praetorians, it stood to reason he would be her keeper from now on, holding her as a slave in his own house.

He reached into his pocket and brought out the key.

"I'm just going to take it off. Can you just stand still for me? I promise this won't hurt."

He was a little apprehensive about taking it off. Her throat was so raw and he could clearly see bits of dried blood here and there. Having a doctor present might be a good idea, but Angela wouldn't trust anyone else. It would take too long. Slowly he reached out and took hold of the harsh metal collar. Angela flinched but didn't make a sound.

"It will be ok. I'm going to do this as quick as possible. Ready?"

She nodded, as if she had no other choice. Before he could change his mind, Jacob thrust the key into the lock in the collar on the side of her neck, and turned. Pulling the collar open he made sure the hinge on the other side didn't pinch her. When it came loose its weight pulled it to the ground.

Underneath was a terrifying site. Much of her skin had been rubbed completely raw by the collar and what little that had been left had gotten stuck to the metal and ripped away when it fell. Fresh blood came to the surface of her skin, and began running down her neck to soak into the one piece of clothing she owned.

Without thinking Jacob took off his own shirt to stop the bleeding. But upon seeing him shed his clothing Angela took a brief step backward, eyes wide with fear, staring at him. And Jacob knew why.

Hot stinging tears came to his eyes, as he tried to sooth her, "It's ok, Angel. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I promise I won't hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. It's just that you're bleeding. I want to stop the bleeding," he tried, doing his best to hold back the tears. "Can I? Can I stop the bleeding?"

He offered his shirt to her and without a sound she took a step towards him, allowing him to carefully wrap the soft cloth around her wounded neck.

"Angel, I've got a car not too far away from here. If it's still there, I want to head into Chicago since we're close. I can get us a hotel room there, and patch up your neck, get you some new clothes. Ok?"

Angela nodded submissively. He wanted nothing than to shake her and tell her that if she didn't want that she could say so. But he couldn't. He needed to take care of her. It would be a long, slow process to get her back to her old self, or as close to her old self as he could get her. No matter how much he told her right now that she was her own person, that she could make her own choices in life, she would still do whatever he told her. Besides that, he was all she had. It wasn't like she could go somewhere called 'home' or go to another hotel on her own. She had no money. She had nothing. Except Jacob.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

She nodded again and they started off.

Jacob didn't know what else to tell her, there was so much, so he kept quiet instead and led her back into town to the small side street where his car was miraculously still parked. Well, it was a standard government issue car, no one would mess with it, for fear of the government coming after them.

The town was still sound asleep this late at night. With the mansion so far up the hill no one heard or saw a thing. Everyone slept on. And for that, Jacob was great full.

Approaching his car Angela stopped short and stared at it. It could have been similar to what the Praetorians had kidnaped her in that fateful day they tried to get her identity back. And that could have been the last time she saw a car. Anything was possible.

Jacob found himself consoling her again, letting her know that everything was ok. He helped her into the car and buckled her seatbelt for her before closing her door and walking back to the trunk where he opened a small suitcase on wheels and brought out a clean t-shirt to slide into.

Angela was silent the whole way into Chicago, as silent as she had always been. Jacob was hoping within a few days he could take her in to see the doctor he'd played online chess with a few years ago, back when he had still been Sorcerer. He'd treated a bullet wound she'd had once and because she knew the great Sorcerer he hadn't gone to the cops. He would be the one, the only one, to trust with Angela's health. But first Jacob had to get her out of her shell a little bit. If she didn't remember Jacob, chances are she wouldn't remember Steven Graff either.

Those hot, stinging tears he'd held back earlier returned in a rush and ran down his face to soak his shirt. He wanted nothing right then other than to stop the car and gather her in his arms and sob until he was as dry as the desert. But he knew he couldn't. She would shy away from him and he had to be strong for her, to help her get strong again.

Several hours later they arrived at a large hotel and he was able to get them a room in the back, where they could come and go through a back entrance.

"Are you ready?" he asked when he'd parked the car right next to the rear door.

There was no response from her for several seconds and then, in a barely audible whisper, "yes."

The whole ride from the small town to the big city she'd stared straight ahead, never moving her head to look out the side window or to rest it in a hand. Nothing. And now he understood why. Not only was it probably ingrained in her from her years at the Praetorian mansion, but her neck was probably stiff, and very painful. He'd checked it once when he'd stopped at a drug store to get some medical supplies. It had stopped bleeding, though his shirt was soaked red.

Once upstairs, he was unsure how to proceed. Lord knew she needed a shower, and badly. But she also needed to have her wounds looked at. Which should be done first? And then there was the problem of clothes. All she had was what she had on, and that would be thrown out as soon as she took it off to shower.

"The best I have to offer you right now is what I packed for myself," he said as she sat down on one of the beds he'd motioned to. "I promise they're clean."

"Ok," she whispered.

"You'd best take a shower first. Just be careful of your neck. Before you change I'll bandage your neck for you."

Angela got up and headed for the bathroom. She was taking what he said as orders. All he wanted now was some form of rejection from her. For her to not want to shower. For her to turn around and say 'no'. But she didn't. He wanted to offer to help, knowing what her bathroom at the mansion was like, with no shower, not even a bathtub. But he also knew that was a bad idea. He had to build her trust back up again, slowly. Even if it killed him.


	5. Chapter 5

The Net: Dog: Chapter 5

An hour later she was finally washed, dried, bandaged, and curled up in a ball under the covers of a hotel bed wearing Jacob's own pajamas. She looked unsure of things. And he remembered the dirty blankets she'd been sleeping on for three years. The bed was almost foreign to her. She seemed uncomfortable because she wasn't used to it, not because it wasn't comfortable. Or perhaps because of time spent with Sean and who knows how many of the others. Jacob cringed at that thought as he climbed into the other bed in a t-shirt and boxers. He pulled the covers up over him before reaching for the light switch above the night stand between the two beds. He stopped when he saw her.

"Angel, everything's going to be ok now. You're safe. You have your life back. Tomorrow we can get you some clothes that will fit you. I know this will take time. You've been kept..." Jacob tried to say it. Tried to say where and how she was kept. But he couldn't. "You've missed the outside world for so long. But you'll get back to it. You'll remember how things go." Her brows furrowed in confusion while he spoke. "I know you don't understand everything. But you will. It will all make sense eventually." He reached for the light switch again. "And Angel, don't ever forget that I love you. Ok?"

"I won't," she whispered.

Jacob turned out the light, but he didn't close his eyes. He was tired, after everything that had happened but there was no way he could fall asleep now. He lay in the darkness wondering if Angela was sleeping or what was going through her mind if she wasn't.

He was thankful the town had been close to Chicago. The doctor that had healed Angela's gunshot wound years ago would be able to help again. As soon as Angela was ready for the world, he would take her to see Dr. Steven Graff, the man he'd played online chess with as Sorcerer.

Just how he would deal with his boss, Walter Cizelski, he had no idea. He had a feeling he would have to quit his job, find something else to keep him and Angela afloat. But he was also afraid to leave her anywhere alone for a long time after what she'd been through. But taking her on the job wouldn't be a good idea either. Who would hire a young guy who had a tag-a-long girl who never said a word and always looked forlorn. Not that these things wouldn't change with time.

But then a thought occurred to him. Angela had once held a job where she was able to work at home, fixing computers. Why couldn't he do the same thing? He smiled sadly in the night, wishing he hadn't had to make decisions like that. Sure he could do it. Sure he might even enjoy such a job. But the reason for it was what made him wince.

And Sean Trelawney along with all the other Praetorians were already dead so he couldn't exact any more revenge on them. He had to turn his energies to Angela, to help her get better as best he could. She would need all of his love and support.

Without warning there was a thud and Angela's voice cried out in the darkness. Jacob snapped the light back on and found Angela on the other side of her bed on the floor, pulling at the blankets, trying to drag them off the bed towards the corner of the room. When she saw Jacob jump out of bed she let go of them and scrambled into the corner. Tears ran down her face and he saw her blink several times, trying to swallow the lump in her throat and to stop crying. Her luck was fading fast as more tears followed the first and she began to sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized over and over again.

Jacob went quickly to her side and knelt close to her, wanting to take her in his arms and hold her until she was as dry as the Nevada desert. But he wasn't sure she would accept him. Would she think he was going to do something Sean had done to her? But he couldn't let her stay like that, crying in the corner, alone. He had to do something. He had to hold her. Reaching out to her he gently placed a hand on one of her knees that she'd brought up to her chest. She was holding her hands in front of her face, as if she could hide from him that way. As if he would get angry at her for crying.

She looked up at his touch with fear in her eyes. He didn't move his hand. Nor did he say anything. Until then all he'd done was tell her how much he loved her and would never hurt her. But he'd never shown her. Really shown her. There was more ways then one to win her trust. She continued to watch him, the fear lessening in her eyes as the minutes crawled by. The tears continued to spill from her eyes though she'd stopped sobbing.

And then she lowered her hand from her face and placed it on his. He wanted to take her hand in his, but he remained still, letting her take the lead. A long time went by and she looked from his face to where their hands were together, one on top of the other. She moved hers, felt the softness of his hands and then took it in hers in a hard grip as more tears came pouring from her eyes and she began to sob again. She pulled his hand towards her, and he took the cue moving to sit beside her and finally pull her into his arms and let her cry herself out.

Awhile later she'd cried herself to sleep in Jacob's arms, gripping his hand in hers. He still had no clue what had set her off, but she was over it. And she'd let him come to her. It was no longer the fact that Jacob was in charge. She'd let him come. She'd let him hold her while she cried. And now she was sound asleep in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. With his free hand he grabbed the end of the blanket she'd been trying to pull off the bed and yanked it toward them, carefully wrapping it around her to keep her warm. Slowly he closed his own eyes and fell into the first deep, restful sleep he'd gotten since losing her so many years ago.

✢

There was a loud bang and Jacob was jerked awake with Angela. Lifting his head and straining to see through his sleep-filled eyes with a stiff neck and body from sleeping on the floor Jacob saw several men running into their hotel room.

"FBI! Stand up! Hands in the air!" Walter's voice rang through the room loud and clear.

Angela was sitting up beside Jacob, her eyes wide, unsure what to do. Jacob took her hand in his and held it tight, to ensure her that everything would be ok. She pulled out of his grasp and scrambled further into the corner, curling up into a ball.

"Walter? What are you doing here?" Jacob stood up, clearing his eyes with the back of his hands.

"Saving your ass. What's going on? I send you on a case and you don't report back? You've been gone for over a month without contacting me! Jane Faraday said she saw you here with Liz Marx. Tell me what's going on. You're supposed to be arresting her and bringing her in."

"Walter...look...it's not that simple."

"Right. Sure. Arrest her," he ordered the other agents beside him, obviously on loan from the regular FBI that didn't handle internet crimes.

"What?! You can't arrest her!"

"Why not? She's Elizabeth Marx. You knew this had to happen. Why are you protecting her?"

The two men moved towards Angela who tried her hardest to sink into the walls behind her.

"She's my sister," Jacob said, trying to be brave. "She's my sister," he said again, trying to convince himself as much as Walter.

"You don't have a sister, Jacob."

"I do. Her name is Angela. Angela Marie Bennett Resh."

"Long name. Why isn't she talking?" Walter called the men off her and she relaxed slightly.

"She's been through a lot recently..."

Walter cut him off, "She's got a lot of bruises. How did those happen?"

"She was kidnaped. They hurt her."

"How come I never heard about any of this? And why does she look like Elizabeth Marx?"

"It's a long story, and I don't know," Jacob said, answering both questions.

Walter smirked and came further into the room, holstering his gun and resting his hands on his hips.

"Resh, you realize this looks bad for you. I don't care if she is your sister. I am your boss. You do work for the FBI. This could break your career."

"I don't care about that. I just want to keep her safe."

"Awww, that's so touching and sweet."

The other two agents smirked with him.

"Throw some clothes on Resh," Walter said, throwing him a pair of pants that were on the floor near the FBI's feet.

Jacob did as he was told and turned to see Angela cowering in the corner, her eyes filled with fear as she looked from Walter to Jacob.

Walter approached Angela who tried to disappear into the walls again. She looked up at him before turning her eyes to the ground and hugging her knees as close to her body as she could. Jacob's boss turned and walked out of the room, telling the two agents to stay there and keep an eye on Jacob and Liz.

Jacob glared at Walter's retreating back and walked back over to Angela intent on sitting beside her to comfort her. One of the agents got in his way.

"No. You stay apart from her. Far apart. Sit there," the agent said pointing towards the bed Jacob had been in the night before for a short period of time.

Jacob did as he was told until Walter came back into the room.

"Got a psychologist on her way to look at her."

"What?!" Jacob bounded from his seat to confront his boss.

"Sit your ass back down Resh. I need to be clear of this situation before I make a decision one way or the other. You claim she's your sister Angela Resh. But when I hired you your only relative was your grandmother and she died two years ago. She also happens to look a lot like Liz Marx. Come on, Resh, you went to Quantico, you've been working for me for three years now, you should understand where I'm coming from. When Jane contacted me the only thing we could think of was that Liz Marx had kidnaped you and had you under her control."

Jacob slowly nodded as he sat down again. Of course he did understand. It did make sense, from Walter's point of view. He just didn't want to let go of Angela so soon after finding her and getting her to safety. He just didn't want anything to happen to her. Didn't want her to be scared. She didn't know Walter.

"You," Walter spoke to the agents. "Take her into custody. The psychologist will meet you at the county courthouse in half an hour. Do not let her out of your sight. In fact, it would be best if you handcuffed her to one of you to make sure she can't escape. And Resh, don't say one word. Not one single word. Or I'll have you arrested for assault and battery. Maybe even rape, the way she's acting."

Jacob could only stare at his boss, eyes wide, for a few seconds before his mouth caught up with his brain. "But you know me, Walter! You know I would never..."

"No. I thought I knew you. But now..."

"It's a long story, I know."

"Look, I told you, one word. And you've already said too many. Shut up. Now."

Jacob did as he was told, watching the agents pull Angela roughly from the floor and threw one half of the cuffs around her wrist and the other around one of the agent's wrists. She looked back at Jacob as they led her to the door. The look in her eyes clearly said she didn't want to leave.

"Go with them," Jacob told her, ignoring Walter's command. "Everything will be ok," he said, doing his best to calm her fears with his voice, praying that he would be able to see her again. Soon.

Angela dutifully followed the agents but never took her eyes off Jacob until he couldn't see her any more.

* * *

A/N: If you're liking this story so far, please post a review and let me know! If there's something that's bothering you about it, let me know that too! I know this story sounds rushed, and I appologize for that, I really was rushing to finish it. But if there's anything else you find wrong or whatever, I'd still like to know. It would mean a lot to me to get at least one review from someone, whether you liked it or not. Please, and thanks! 


	6. Chapter 6

The Net: Dog: Chapter 6

Walter grabbed the wooden desk chair and spun it around so that he could sit backward on it and face Jacob.

"So, it's a long story. This much I know. And it's time you tell me how it goes. We've got all the time in the universe."

Jacob gulped. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me. Maybe I won't believe you, but I want to hear your side of the story before I hear hers. Or did you two collaborate your stories so that neither one of you can be caught lying."

Jacob couldn't believe his ears. True Walter wasn't the best boss in the world, but he'd never been this bad before. Walter had been looking for agents to populate his new FBI program known as the CIC or Center for Intrusion Control. He needed people who were excellent at computer work because he wasn't, but he knew the internet needed policing. When Jacob had been arrested at the Praetorian Headquarters in New York City the FBI recognized in him exactly what Walter was looking for. So, when he was found innocent in what had gone down, they sent him to Quantico for training and gave him to Walter. Truth be told, no one liked Walter much. Or his idea of policing the internet. No one thought the CIC would last long, so they'd picked Jacob, just a kid at the time, mostly to get back at Walter and to ensure the CIC's failure. Things had gone the opposite since then, however. Together Jacob and Walter had arrested many criminals and the CIC was becoming bigger and bigger as time went on. Just a year after they'd formed the CIC another agent had come on to the team, and then another a year after that. Both guys stayed in Seattle, keeping their home base running whenever he or Walter went out on cases. Now he was beginning to see why people despised him so much.

"You know about my history, before we met, how I was arrested, right?" Jacob asked, figuring he'd do best to start at the very beginning.

"Sure, I read the report. You broke into a travel agency, but didn't steal anything. What's that got to do with this?"

"Everything." Jacob sighed and started with the day he'd sent Angela the message she wasn't supposed to see. The message he'd finally managed to send the sister he'd never met before. The sister he hadn't even known he had until he'd begun digging up information about his father. Their father.

He'd just gotten to the end of his story when Walter's cell phone rang.

"Walter," he answered. "Yes. He's right here. We're at the hotel...No. What did she say?...Great. Just great...You want to talk...yeah...yeah sure...Room 1110."

Walter hung up his phone and reattached it to his belt.

"Jane's coming over to talk to you."

"How's Angela," Jacob asked, trying to ignore the pain in his heart.

"They admitted her to the hospital. She's too thin, undernourished, her throat looks like someone took a swipe at it with something sharp, she's been beaten near to death, possibly raped, and she's weak. She also won't say anything to anyone, terrified out of her mind. Probably afraid if she talks her attacker will come after her I bet. That's usually how it is."

"But they're dead. I just told you. They're dead. They won't come after her again. I was trying to tell her..."

There was a loud knock on the door and Walter got up to answer it. Jane Faraday walked in with a purpose to her heeled steps. Her lips were pursed and she looked angry, also perhaps just a little bit happy, since she didn't like either Jacob or Walter.

"Walter, would you excuse us for a moment. We need to have a private conversation."

Without a word, Jacob's boss left the room. Jane grabbed the chair he'd been sitting in and spun it around before sitting down, her legs crossed. She pulled out a small tape recorder from her suit jacket pocket and hit the record button.

"So, Jacob, you were sent out to find and arrest Elizabeth Marx. Is that correct?" she asked.

"Yes, I was."

"And let me get this straight, you thought that because she was a criminal someone wanted by the FBI for a bunch of computer crimes you could have your way with her? You thought you could beat her and rape her once you had her under custody?"

Jacob's eyes widened with horror and his heart pounded at the accusations. "No! No, that's not it at all! You didn't talk to Walter. I just explained it all to him."

"Yeah, well he's not one of my most favorite people in the world and I hardly trust him. Especially when you work for him. So explain it all to me. How does a criminal you're supposed to bring in wind up beaten and starved to death while you're cavorting around without checking in with Walter as to your whereabouts?"

"She's my sister," Jacob explained once again. A single tear slid down his face. "She's my sister. I haven't seen her in a long time, and I was on the Marx case when I suddenly found her, and she was in such a state, I had to take my time to get her out of her situation..."

"Cut the crap and the tears. You're an FBI agent for gods sake."

Jacob wiped his tears on the back of his sleeve and started at the beginning as he had just done for Walter, telling the story of the Praetorians chasing Angela.

"Like I buy that load of crap. You hurt her. And even though she was supposed to be sent to prison, she'll be going to a nut house, thanks to you. And you, you'll be the one going to prison."

Jane stood up with a huff and went to the door. Walter had been standing on the other side of it, half listening in, judging by the way he was leaning towards the crack.

"Walter, get your ass in here. Your agent screwed up, and now I have to deal with it. If this in anyway comes back to you, you can be sure I'll be happy to slap those handcuffs of yours on your wrists right after I slap them on his."

"Hey, I had nothing to do with this!" Walter tried to defend himself.

"Right. Sure you didn't. Or is it that CIC is failing after all, and you're just trying to defend your best agent so it doesn't all go down the toilet. Well, let me tell you something, Walter, you'd best tell that little agent of yours never to do this again, because I hate defending criminals who are too scared shitless to talk!"

And with that last angry outrage, Jane Faraday stalked out of the room slamming the door behind her. Walter didn't even look at Jacob as he passed by him, grabbing the chair he'd been sitting in previously and moving it so he could sit in front of the tv. He switched it on to a news channel and slouched in the wooden chair, staring at the screen.

Jacob only sighed and looked away from his boss, to the corner where he'd spent the night with Angela.

"She's my sister," he whispered to himself. "I would never hurt my sister."

Another tear made its way down his face. He'd gotten so close to her last night, she'd allowed him to hold her while she slept. And now she'd been taken away from him. Chances were that he would have to work hard to regain that small amount of trust all over again if he ever got her back. If he was ever allowed to see her again. He didn't know what she was going through just then, but it couldn't be good. His boss's boss said she was scared shitless. All he wanted to do was find her and hold her, let her know everything would be ok, that he'd always be there for her, no matter what, that he wouldn't let anyone hurt her ever again. But he couldn't. There seemed to be no way to prove that it wasn't him that hurt her. No way at all.

Walter's phone rang and he put the tv on mute before answering it. A few minutes later he hung up and turned to Jacob.

"The doctors at the hospital had to drug her just to be able to knock her out to treat her wounds. The psychologist hasn't even had a chance to talk to her yet her condition is so bad. Just thought you'd want to know."

And Walter turned back to the news.

Jacob turned onto his side to face the wall away from his boss. He felt like a scared five year old, as he tucked his knees up underneath his chin and hugged himself, wishing he was hugging Angela instead. He wanted to be with her now more than ever.

"Everything's going to be ok," he whispered to her, as if she was there in front of him. As if he wasn't the scared one. "I promise, I'll come see you soon. They'll take good care of you, I'm sure."

✢

The day slowly passed on and turned into night. Several agents had come at Jane's request to keep an eye on Walter and Jacob, standing guard outside their hotel room door. At least they allowed Walter to order Chinese take-out for dinner. Jacob grabbed his own dinner and together they ate in silence.

Not knowing what else to do, Jacob curled up under the covers of the bed he'd been sitting on and closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer for Angela before managing to fall asleep.

✢

No word came about Angela for several days and Jacob was getting worried. The only other person he and Walter had seen was someone from the local Crime Lab, asking for a sample of Jacob's DNA. He'd only been there five minutes, taking a quick swab of his mouth before he was gone.

As Jacob paced the length of the small room, anxious to escape the dark prison they were held in, with no sunlight allowed in because of the dark curtains, his mind came up with all sorts of reasons why they hadn't heard anything. The most frequent excuse was that she was silent and they were waiting for her to admit every wrong Jacob had ever done to her. But he knew she wouldn't because it wasn't true. He'd never hurt her. He'd always been kind and gentle, even when he'd picked up her frail body the night of the fire and whisked her away from the burning mansion. She wouldn't say anything against him. Unless they forced her. She'd been used to taking orders from the Praetorians. This might turn out to be no different.

Another thought was that something had happened while they were treating her wounds and complications had risen. This only scared him more. What if they'd accidentally hurt her? What if something had gone terribly wrong?

Jacob silently begged for some news of Angela. Any news at all had to be better than pacing the small room with no news. Had the psychologist gotten a chance to talk to her? What was the prognosis? Would Angela get better as Jacob wished every single day? Or was she fated to stay the way she was for the rest of her life? Maybe this was why they refused to call. Or maybe they were steadily building a case against him. He sighed. Anything was possible. Anything at all.

With each passing night he slept less and less, becoming more worried for her. Walter seemed to be just fine other than pissed because he was stuck in a tiny room with Jacob. He slept fine. But Jacob tossed and turned, remembering that night he'd seen Sean Trelawney coming up the stairs with his hand on Angela's shoulder. The night he knew just how bad everything was for her beyond the beatings.

Tears pricked at his eyes as they seemed to do every night since she'd been taken away from him. There was nothing he could do for her. They were both in the hands of the law now. And even though he was part of that law, that didn't matter. He was suspected of being a dirty cop, a dirty FBI agent. Things could only go downhill from here. For him at least. He prayed that they would take good care of Angela, get her over her issues, help her become the woman she was before she disappeared so long ago. There was a chance she would be ok.

✢

Five days after Angela was taken Jane Faraday barged into the hotel room.

"She can't even eat with a knife and fork! What the hell did you do to her?!" the woman screamed at Jacob the moment she set eyes on him.

"I told you what happened!"

"Yeah, well the psychologist wants to talk to you. So hurry up and get in the car."

Jacob got off the bed, hoping against all hope that he might be able to see Angela. But he made sure he didn't look happy on the outside as he calmly walked over to Jane and held out his hands to her.

"You gonna cuff me when you take me downtown or what?" he asked.

"Just get your ass out here. Walter, you stay put. I want to talk to you later."

The ride to the local police station was quiet and uncomfortable. Jacob wanted to ask her how Angela was, if she was getting any better, but he decided against it. It wouldn't help his case and it would only anger her more.

When they arrived she led him down several cramped and crowded hallways painted an ugly green that had gotten dirty over the years. There was almost no room to move in the place but when people saw an angry Jane Faraday FBI agent coming, they quickly stepped out of the way. She opened a door to their left and shoved Jacob inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He found himself in an interrogation room with a man in a white lab coat.

"You must be Jacob Resh, have a seat," the man motioned to the metal folding chair opposite the table he sat at. "I'm Dr. Vecchio."

"You're the psychologist who looked at Angela, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"How is she?"

"I'm sorry but I can't discuss that with you. We're here to talk about you."

"I just need to know that she's ok. Please. It's been too long..."

The doctor cut him off. "Why don't you tell me what happened."

"But I've already told both my boss and his boss."

"Come now, Agent Resh. You are an FBI agent, surely you know how many times a suspect must repeat a story?"

"What, so now I'm a suspect?"

"You above all else should know the adage that no one is ruled out at the start of an investigation, especially those closest to the victim. Now, would you please recount your story, one more time?"

Jacob sighed before giving in and retelling it again, doing his best to remember exactly what he'd told Walter and Jane Faraday about Angela being his sister.

"That explains a lot," Dr. Vecchio said in deep thought as he studied Jacob.

"Like what?"

"I told you already, I can't speak to you about her."

"Doc, she's what this is about. It's all about her. What does it explain?"

"The bruises. The fact that she's nearly skin and bone. The fact that she doesn't use utensils when she eats. The evidence of rape."

This was the last place Jacob wanted to be. He didn't think he could deal with talking about Angela like that much longer. He wanted to forget that it had ever happened. How many times had they hurt her, he didn't want to know. Once was one too many.

"But it doesn't prove that you weren't the one who beat her, who raped her."

"You're not a cop and this isn't an investigation," Jacob said, a little too hotly.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I'll leave matters of the police to Agent Faraday."

"Please, Dr. Vecchio, I just need to see her. Can I see her? I need to know that she's alright."

"No. I'm afraid I cannot allow that. At least for a few more days. I'm still trying to verify her condition and I can't have you contaminating anything. Nothing against you personally, you understand. This is the way I can prove your innocence, if you are indeed innocent. And if you go in there and talk to her, Faraday will only assume you're telling her to keep her mouth shut about you hurting her or you'll kill her. And you know where that could go."

Jacob nodded. "Yes, I know. But please, can you at least tell me if she's getting any better? Is she eating more? Is she healthier, physically at least?"

The doctor sighed and looked at Jacob a moment before responding, "This is all I can tell you. She's better than when I first saw her, but not by much."

"Thank you Doctor," Jacob said with a faint smile that only lasted a second. "That's all I needed to hear."


	7. Chapter 7

The Net: Dog: Chapter 7

"Rape kit came back on Jane Doe," Jane Faraday said the next day back in the dark hotel room with Walter. "And you're lucky Resh. Although results indicated that she was raped repeatedly over a long period of time, you've been cleared of that charge."Jacob was aware that he'd be cleared. It didn't take a dummy to figure that one out.

"Why did you call her Jane Doe? Her name is Angela."

"Why yes, it actually is. Surprising, isn't it?" she asked, looking over at Walter sitting on the opposite bed from Jacob. "Angela Marie Bennett Resh. Sole surviving sister to one Jacob Gabriel Resh, according to her record."

Walter said nothing, just sat there, staring at both of them looking stunned.

"I had a Crime Scene Investigation team find the mansion you talked about Resh. They're going through their findings right now as we speak. Hopefully we'll know more in the next few days as they piece the evidence together along with what Dr. Vecchio has to say. So we can't get you on any rape charges, but I'm sure something else will stick. See you later boys."

With that, Jane left the still dark hotel room. Jacob leaned back against the pillows on his bed with a sigh. He was glad he'd been cleared, but not entirely happy. Walter only leaned forward to look at Jacob.

"You know they shut down CIC."

Jacob looked at him. "They did what?"

"They shut down CIC. Until this is all over. Thanks to you Dave and Ben can't keep the home fires burning. They can't work on cases. They can't do shit! Because of your stupidness. I'm stuck here, depressed as hell, unable to do my job. Thanks, Resh. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome," Jacob grumbled. "You know this isn't what I wanted."

"I know. You were planning to spirit her away without telling anyone. You were going to quit the CIC."

"How did you know?"

"I just do. But what I don't know is why."

"Because she's my sister!" Jacob stared at his feet in dejection. "The men who did this to her are gone. Dead from the fire. So there's nothing left for me to do except to keep her safe and to help her get back her life."

"Keep her safe from who?" Walter asked, still leaning towards him from the edge of his own bed that had once been Angela's.

"From everyone. From people who would want to hurt her like that again. And from the law. From doctors who would want to throw her into a mental institution. From people who would want to poke and prod her in an attempt to understand what she went though, what she's going through now, and to determine what they should do with her. She's confused and scared. That would only make it worse. It took me a whole month for her to trust me just a little bit because she was so scared. Because she'd forgotten who I was. After three years of their torture she didn't even remember who I was."

Jacob remembered going to her that first night, remembered the feeling in his heart when she only stared at him in fear when he said he was going to get her out of there.

Clasping his hands together in his lap he continued, "If I could have gotten her out of there any sooner, I would have. If I had known they were...but I didn't...until that last night. But if I had...I would have acted sooner. Whether she trusted me or not. She never deserved that. And she doesn't deserve this."

Walter's face softened at Jacob's words.

"You were cleared of the rape charges. I'm sure you'll be cleared of everything else. But I don't know what the doctor is going to say about releasing her to you. And what about your job?" his boss asked in a much kinder manner.

Jacob looked over at him, surprised by his change of temper. The man actually seemed to be siding with him now.

"I'm sorry Walter. But she's going to need me 24 hours I think. If they release her to me I will have to quit. I'll help you get a replacement."

"What will you do then?"

"Work from home. I've been thinking about it, and Angela used to work from home a long time ago. She was a computer programmer, one of the best. That's what I'll do. I can work, earn money, and take care of her at the same time."

Walter only nodded before leaning back against his pillows and staring off into space.

"If what you say is true," he said all of a sudden. "that these people did what you say they did to her for three years, if you're cleared...I...I would want her to be released to you. If she really did know you once under good terms for a long length of time, it would make sense that you take care of her. Especially if you care about her as much as I think you do. I don't think I would want to see things turn out any different and I know you'd get me the best programmer in the world."

Jacob turned his head to look back at his boss, surprised yet again. But he knew Walter wasn't always as angry as he had been for the last week.

"No. That I can't do."

"What?" Walter wore a confused look on his face.

"I can't get you the best programmer. Because Angela is the best. She was amazing the last time I saw her. I looked up to her abilities. Nine years older than me she had way more experience than I did at the time. If they hadn't gotten her on that day, you would have hired her over me in a split second. And it would have been your decision not someone else. But I can get you the next best programmer."

"I'll take whoever you can get, Jacob. I just wish I could have met Angela back then."

"Yeah, me too." Regret filled his voice as he whispered the words. Regret that he hadn't had voice communication with Angela that day. He'd known they were going into danger taking down the Praetorians with a band of Mariano's men and he'd been worried. He should have been more prepared.

Jacob went back to staring at his shoes and Walter lay his head back to stare at the ceiling. Inside his mind Jacob remembered Angela as she had been, strong, vibrant, the woman no Praetorian would ever bring down. He saw her beautiful smile, the way she'd been with Mariano the first time he'd secretly seen her in person before showing himself as Sorcerer. But the moment she was to succeed they'd gained the upper hand. They'd been the ones to gain control. He saw her at the mansion standing up in the yard with a chain attached to her neck the moment he realized who she really was. He saw her bruises, deep and purple. He saw her sitting on the floor in a puddle of blood from her arm. And he saw her walking slowly up the stairs with Sean Trelawney behind her with his hand on her shoulder. The look on her face was one he would always remember but couldn't describe. Such sadness and despair that she'd accepted as the rest of her life. They'd ruined her.

"She's not ruined," he heard Walter's voice from somewhere nearby. "I'm no psychologist but I'm sure the real Angela must be in there somewhere just waiting for the right moment to come out."

Jacob blinked his eyes several times before he saw Walter reaching out to him with a Kleenex in his hand.

"The right moment when she knows she's safe and you'll be there for her like you always have been."

It was then Jacob realized his shirt was soaked and wet tracks had made their way down his cheeks and neck. He'd been caught crying by his boss. His cheeks turned red at the thought.

"Some FBI agent I am. I'm falling apart at the seems."

"No you're not. Jacob, of all the people I know, in a situation like this, you're the strongest. Most of them would have given up. Would leave her to the doctors, walk away, and forget she exists. Most wouldn't do everything they could to get her out of those conditions themselves. And yes, most of the people I know are cops or FBI agents."

"Tells a lot about our profession." Jacob sighed, "I just want her safe. Is that too much to ask?"

"No."

✢

"The DNA we found..." Jane paused for a moment and started again. "The DNA we found inside Angela belonged to fifteen different people, all described the same and all in different forms of law enforcement."

It had been two days since Jacob's conversation with Walter and he felt like he'd started to go insane since then already. They'd had no news. No visitors. Nothing to do. Nothing. Nothing except hope and pray for Angela's safety. Even though Jacob hated Jane Faraday for doing this to them when she walked into their hotel room he'd been glad to see her. He'd almost smiled too, and he saw a small bit of relief on Walter's face as well. Her news, however, was not surprising. He knew Sean Trelawney. She didn't. He was just glad she didn't have bad news for him, either that they'd proved he'd hurt Angela or that something horrible had happened to her.

Now, as they listened to Jane he and Walter sat on their beds, the tv muted between them. Walter seemed more interested in what she had to say than Jacob.

"All male," she continued. "Dan Dalsburg was in the FBI, Chad Kensington was in the NSA, Michael Vale was in the RCMP..."

Jacob cut her off, "RCMP?" he questioned.

"Royal Canadian Mounted Police."

Jacob nodded, remembering their time in Canada running from Sean while trying to save the life of a girl younger than Jacob had been at the time.

"These names were obviously aliases all for one man. We checked each agency and none of them had records of him."

"They wouldn't," Jacob said. "Trelawney knew how to cover his tracks."

"What did CSI find at that mansion?" Walter asked.

"They're still processing the evidence. When they're done I'll let you know."

Jane's visits were always short and aggravating. Even though Jacob was glad for some interaction besides the one he was constantly having with the tv, she still annoyed him quite a bit. She only stopped by to give them the facts on what they were finding. She would have called instead had she not wanted to see their reactions to what she said. She also just wanted to check up on them to make sure the guard was still outside their door and they hadn't decided to flee anywhere.

"By the way Resh, Dr. Vecchio wants to see you. There's a uniform who will take you to his office."


	8. Chapter 8

The Net: Dog: Chapter 8

The officer parked in front of a large sign which read 'Chicago Hospital of Mental Health' and opened Jacob's door for him. If this was where the psychologist's office was, then this was also where Angela was being kept away from him and he didn't want to go inside.

It looked like an old place, built in the 1940's perhaps and he was afraid of what he would find inside. Patients chained to their beds, laying in their own waste until an uncaring nurse found them several hours later, attendants making fun of and taking advantage of them. Angela, alone, chained in a corner, perhaps beaten for not talking. But Dr. Vecchio was a nice guy. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Would he?

Jacob got out of the back of the cruiser and let the cop lead him inside to the doctor's office. The walls were a calm but warm peach color with a cream trim. The floors were white and nearly squeaky clean. A few wheelchairs lined the hallway.

The recreation room halfway down the hallway was open and Jacob could see several patients dressed in baggy sweat pants and t-shirts huddled happily around a tv while two others battled each other on the ping pong table, the ball slapping against their paddles in an almost hypnotic rhythm.

None of the other doors were open. He listened for screams of pain or calls for help and heard none.

"Dr. Vecchio will be right with you," the doctor's secretary said when they arrived at his office on the fourth floor.

Jacob looked up when he heard a door open. The doctor stood in the doorway with a surprised look on his face.

"What?" Jacob asked, standing up.

"Please, come in."

Inside the office, Jacob was expecting a dark wooden desk and two chairs for him to pick from. He was expecting it to be posh, large, with lots of diplomas on the wall. But that wasn't the case. Instead, he found a small, simple room with two leather chairs, both of which looked soft and comfortable. There were two tables one at either chair and each held a box of tissues while one also held two folders, a yellow memo pad, and a pen. Jacob recognized his name as well as Angela's on the folders.

"You look tired," Dr. Vecchio commented as he sat down in the chair opposite Jacob and picked up the note pad and pen.

Jacob blinked and wiped at his eyes with his fingers. He was tired. Tired of everything, and tired of being able to do nothing.

"I'm sorry, Doc."

"No need to be sorry, Jacob. I would just like to ask why you're so tired. How have you been sleeping lately?"

"Sleep? What's that? I hardly know what you're talking about," Jacob replied in a dry tone. "I can't sleep. I worry too much. I'm bored. Spend all my time in bed propped up by pillows watching tv. My boss's boss has us locked in the damn hotel room with a watch guard out front to make sure we don't escape on her until she can prove I raped and beat my sister."

"You're harboring a lot of anger. Are you sure she's out to get you?"

Jacob sighed. "When my boss thought it was a good idea to start the CIC to police the internet everyone laughed at him. They thought it was a dumb idea. When he asked for agents who knew computers to populate his agency they laughed even harder. Then I came along. Once they were able to prove that I was innocent in my case they sent me to Quantico for FBI training because I'm good with computers. They did it to make fun of Walter, thought they gave him the lowest of the low when they sent me to CIC. No one thinks highly of us. No one thought we'd be able to pull off the arrest record we've got. They gave us two more recruits, but they still laugh. Even Jane, his boss. I'm glad I have a job I like, one that pays well, without even finishing highschool. And it helped me to find Angela. I wouldn't be harboring any anger if they respected the CIC and what we do. I wouldn't have this anger if Jane Faraday didn't have it in her mind that I would deliberately hurt my own sister! She was the one who took Angela away from me and is keeping me cooped up in a dark hotel room night and day. I just want to be with Angela. Is that so hard to ask?"

"Yes. It is, I'm afraid. I understand where you're coming from but now that this has turned into a governmental matter there's no going back. I'm keeping a close watch on Angela to make sure she's healing well mentally and physically."

"Can I see her? Please? You don't have to let me in the room with her. You don't even have to let her know I'm there. I just want to see her. I need proof that she's ok. Please, doctor, you don't know what this is doing to me!"

"I'm afraid I can't. Not right now."

"But why not? I know you're watching her, but this won't affect that. She won't even know I'm there. Hell, she hardly knows who I am anyway."

"I...I can't. That's all," there was a worried look in the doctor's eyes.

"Something happened!" Jacob's head snapped towards the psychologist. "What happened?! Tell me what happened to her! Did someone hurt her? What happened?! Is she ok?"

"She's fine. Just fine," he said, the worried look still there.

"No she's not. I can tell. You've got to let me see her! Please!" Jacob begged. "I need to see her!"

Dr. Vecchio sighed before motioning for Jacob to get up and follow him. Leaving the office they went to a small room next door. Jacob found that his hands were balled into fists at his sides as he contemplated what could have happened to her. If anyone touched her he would be sure to rip their heart out.

The room was small and dark with only a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Jacob was familiar with the setting. Normally he would be looking through a dark window onto an interrogation room. But here, the glass looked into a stark white, padded room. It was almost impossible to tell the padded bed apart from the rest of the room. But he had no problem finding Angela, tucked into the corner of the room, still wearing his pajamas. She was curled up into a ball, her knees as close to her chest as she could get them. But she wasn't hugging them. Both her hands seemed to be cradled in her lap. The look on her face betrayed her inner feelings. She was sad, lost, and confused. And she wanted to disappear into the wall again. But this was nothing that new. Jacob had seen her like this before. Did it mean she wasn't getting any better? She certainly looked like she might be eating better. If only a little. And her neck seemed to have healed. The bandages had been taken off and only minimal scaring was left, thank God.

She moved slightly and looked to be rubbing her wrists against her legs. That's when he saw them. The fresh bandages. On her wrists. Fresh. They were fresh.

"Her wrists. What happened?" Jacob asked, his voice oddly calm.

"It's been rough since she came from the hospital. She...she...tried to cut herself. Several times. That's why we put her in here. She represents a danger to herself and to everyone else right now."

A single tear tracked it's way down Jacob's face as he watched her rubbing her bandaged wrists against her legs harder now, intent on rubbing them off, or worse.

"Oh God," he whispered. "Why? Why did she do it?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. She won't say anything to anyone. She won't let anyone near her. They tried to give her fresh clothes. When she cut herself on a nail from the bed in her other room they had to sedate her quickly in order to stop the bleeding and get her cleaned up. We thought maybe it was just an accident that first time. But she did it again the next day. And the next. We moved her here, but she's determined to get those bandages off. She wants out of this world, and I'm doing all I can to keep her here as long as possible. Something horrible happened to her and I want to bring her back to our world where she belongs. It's just going to take some time."

Angela rubbed her wrists with more determination as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Let me see her. I might be able to help her."

"I can't let that happen. I'm sorry."

"No your not! You just want to observe her for a long time. To determine what should happen to her. To determine what ward she should be put into. The insane ward or the one where they inject her and she's gone from the world, from me, forever because you don't think there's a damn thing that can help her."

"You don't understand Agent Resh. She's trapped in her own world right now. There's nothing I can do to get her out. She doesn't understand anything. She won't talk to me. She won't let anyone near her."

"Then help her to understand!"

Jacob turned from Angela to face the doctor, this time with more tears freely flowing down his face.

"Watching her isn't going to do shit, doctor! When I was with her, she talked to me! We talked. It took a long time, but I got her to trust me a little. She let me pick her up and carry her out of that place."

"Those circumstances were different. Her life was at stake."

Jacob wiped his tears away before looking back at Angela who'd stopped rubbing her wrists. She drew her knees closer to her chest and sat there, sad and confused, waiting for the end, waiting for someone to rescue her. He wanted nothing in the world just then other than to be able to run to her side and hold her tight, to let her know that everything would be ok. That he would always be there for her, no matter what. She needed to understand that.

"She's not your sister, is she?" the doctor inquired all of a sudden.

Jacob's hand had found it's way to the glass as he watched her on the other side.

Before he knew what he was saying the words tumbled from his mouth, "You don't know how hard I've fallen for her. And when she went missing for three years, I nearly lost it. When I found her again, when I saw what they'd done to her it was like they'd taken my heart and smashed it to bits with a sledge hammer even long after it had stopped beating. We used to be so close. And then she didn't even remember who I was. It tore me up. I had to save her any way I could. I had to get her out of there. I knew it wouldn't be easy because she wasn't the same anymore. People would question her sudden appearance and want to take her away from me. So I made her my sister to protect her. To keep her safe. I know she'll never be the same again, Doctor. I know that. But I have to do whatever it takes to help her and keep her safe."

"That's the only thing she's ever told me."

"What?" Jacob looked back at the doctor.

"When I asked about you, if you'd ever hurt her all she said was 'he's safe'. When I asked about other people hurting her she never said anything, just had a faraway look in her eyes."

Jacob smiled through his tears as he glanced back at Angela, his hand still on the glass. He'd gotten through to her. She knew he was safe, that he wouldn't hurt her or let anyone else harm her. She knew! _Oh, Angel. I love you so much._


	9. Chapter 9

The Net: Dog: Chapter 9

Back at the hotel room late that night several emotions were flooding Jacob all at once. He was happy because Angela understood that he meant her no harm. He was sad because she was still there, being held away from him, and probably still not knowing who he was. He was also angry because they wouldn't let him help her when he knew he could. He'd gotten this far with her. She knew he was safe, that was something more than they had. All they were doing was observing her, trying to determine what should happen to her, but doing nothing to help her. Sure the doctor was a nice guy, but she needed help, not observing!

If only he could get to see her in person, to be able to touch her, to hold her tight against him, to talk to her, she might come out of her shell a little more. She might try to leave her private world behind and rejoin his. If only. Why couldn't the doctor try to help her the best he could and then determine what should be done with her? Not helping her wasn't going to do shit.

Jacob's hand curled into a fist and he punched the pillow beside his in the dark several times. He wanted to cry all of these emotions out of him so there was a chance of getting some sleep at the end, but he was as dry as the Nevada desert and no tears would come.

"Jacob? You ok?" he heard Walter's voice in the darkness with a hint of worry to it.

Jacob rolled over onto his back. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"You didn't sound fine. Look, I know it's annoying when the CSIs take so damn long to get through evidence, but they have to put the pieces of the puzzle together from scratch to figure out what happened. You know that. In a few days, hopefully they'll be able to put everything together. Jane said your case was the top priority right now."

"Right. Good I suppose. But not fast enough."

"Look, there's nothing we can do to speed anything up. The doctor has to be clear about what happened to Angela. He has to make sure it wasn't you..."

Jacob cut him off, "He knows it wasn't me. Angela told him."

"But she could be saying that from fear that you'd go after her again if she told the truth. I know you didn't hurt her, but she doesn't."

"No Walter, she hasn't spoken more than two words to anyone since she left me. When he asked if I hurt her all she said was 'he's safe'. When he asked if other people hurt her she didn't answer, but he read it in her face. God, Walter, they need to be helping her right now, not trying to figure out the past. She's sitting in the corner of a padded room trying to slit her wrists any way possible. I was able to talk to her a little. She would respond to me. It took awhile, but she did. They're not doing anything for her. Just observing. That's not going to do shit."

Jacob sighed, his anger boiling down to desperation.

"I told you once before, the evidence looks good in your favor. If things go according to how I think they will, you'll walk out of here and I'm sure they'll release her to you."

"No they won't. They put her in that padded room because she's a danger to herself and to others, he said. And if they're not doing a damn thing to help her, she won't get better. She'll steadily get worse again. They'll never let her out of there."

"Just go with the flow for awhile Jacob. That's all you can do. Ride the wave, at least until you're completely cleared of this mess. Then you can worry about getting her released. Because even if she was perfectly fine and back to normal, they would never release her to someone who might have raped and beat her. I know it will be hard, but clear yourself first, then get her out of there. Ok?"

As much as he didn't want to, Jacob saw the logic, and nodded his head, forgetting Walter couldn't see him in the darkness of the room.

"Jacob? Ok?"

"Yeah, I got it. Ok," he sighed. "I'll ride the wave. But I promise you it won't be a long one."

"I don't believe it will be a long one. If you are innocent, it shouldn't take the CSIs long to figure that out. Just get some sleep. You'll need it soon enough."

✢

Several more days went by slowly though by now Jane had allowed an officer to accompany Jacob to the hotel's small gym so that he could at least get some exercise in. He felt like a lump on the bed and was afraid he wouldn't be able to help Angela at all if he didn't get some movement in besides pacing the small room.

Now he felt like he was doing something for Angela, even if it wasn't directly helping her right that second, it would help her later on, and it made him feel better. Gave him different scenery to look at besides the dark hotel room.

The officer's cell phone beeped. Jacob kept jogging on the treadmill but turned his attention to the cop's conversation. He was still waiting on news from the CSIs findings. Hopefully this would be the phone call he'd been waiting for.

"Agent Faraday's upstairs. CSI findings came in. Let's go."

Jacob's nerves kicked into high gear as he slowed down and got off the treadmill, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead. This was it. This was the moment that would make or break him, depending on what they found. He could only pray for Angela's sake that they had good news for him.

Upon entering the room Jane Faraday took a quick step away from Jacob when he entered still covered in sweat from his morning jog. She held a disgusted look on her face and he couldn't be sure whether it was because he was sweaty or because she didn't like the news she was about to deliver. Or both.

"Agent Resh, good to see you," she said in an icy tone when he sat down to face her while continuing to towel himself off.

He only nodded in greeting and waited for her to make her announcement.

"As you are probably aware, Resh, that fire you set to the mansion destroyed nearly everything." Jacob nodded. "However, you should be glad the town is small. They don't have a fire engine and no one heard anything at all. So that made the CSIs job easier tracking the evidence. There were a few rooms that were not touched."

Jacob flinched, imagining which rooms had been left. Perhaps they'd found everyone alive, trapped in their bedrooms, begging to be let out, to tell their half of the story. His stomach tied itself into one giant knot.

"Several bedrooms were untouched, three to be exact. And one odd room tucked into a wall underneath the remains of a painting. They found everyone inside dead, most of them died from carbon monoxide poisoning. One man was out in the hallway in front of the small room in the wall. He'd been shot to death in the back of the head. When they ran his prints, thank God he wasn't burned after he was shot, they found that his identity matched those 15 others from various law enforcement agencies."

Jacob's heart pounded, this could still turn out bad for him. He refused to look at either Jane or Walter as she continued her long story. He knew she would keep the important information he so desperately needed to hear until the very end.

"His bedroom was the only one that held any real evidence pertaining to the case. They found evidence of sex between him and Angela. Handcuffs still attached to the headboard had bits of her skin in them."

Jacob shook his head. He didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear it. She'd been so scared, so compliant. She wouldn't have dared escape that night, no matter what that man did to her, yet he handcuffed her to the bed anyway! The sick bastard. His stomach, still tied in a knot began to churn and he could feel the bile rising up into his throat as he jumped from the bed and made a dash for the bathroom.

"You have to hear this, Resh," Jane said when he came back from depositing everything he'd eaten that morning into the toilet.

His heart was still pumping wildly and he could feel the paleness in his own face.

"Yes, she was raped by him. Yes, he handcuffed her to the bed to make sure she didn't try to escape. And yes, they found evidence that he'd beaten her too, thrown her up against the headboard and smacked her around."

Jacob closed his eyes but opened them again when unwanted pictures of Angela in Sean's bed came flooding into his vision. If Sean had still been alive Jacob was sure he would have found him and beat him to a pulp. But he wasn't. And he couldn't.

"She'd never been in the other bedrooms we found."

At least it had only been Sean hurting her in that way.

"The men we found in them don't seem to have any identities at all. They printed them, but found nothing. Did a DNA search and still came up empty. They're still working on it. The last room they found untouched was the small room under the painting in the wall. A most unusual room. And obviously where they had been keeping Angela. Locked in a cage, just as you'd said."

Jacob prayed all this evidence would set him free. Would prove he wasn't conspiring with the Praetorians to hurt her like this.

"Outside the mansion they found the collar you'd taken off her. There was evidence that she'd been wearing it a long time and it was heavy. They found your prints on it, of course, because you took it off the night you escaped. They also found the prints of the man who raped her. And the other men. They also found the chain that they'd attached to her collar when she was outside. You're lucky, Resh. This looks like it might be proving you innocent. But you did burn down the house, and killed everyone inside."

"Jane, look at the evidence!" Walter finally spoke up. "What were these men doing? Half of them have no identities or fifteen for one man! Something fishy was going on there. You've got that one man for raping her and beating her. What more do you need? Jacob was only doing what he had to in order to save Angela and himself. I'm surprised she wasn't dead a long time ago. What on earth would poses them to keep her that way for so long? God..."

Jacob looked up at his boss and realized he hadn't told them everything.

"They were looking for me," he said. "A long time ago in the 80's they had this operation called Copper Canyon. They called together military philosophers, theologians, chaos theorists, analysts, computer geeks. They were looking to create a world wide communication system called Global Village. Anyone working on the project had no clue what they were doing. They didn't even know who anyone else was because they used fake names."

"I've never heard of it. What does this have to do with them searching for you? You were only a kid at the time." Walter asked while Jane looked on with evident interest.

"I was a kid, yes. But my father was one of those they called on to work for them. His fake name was Sorcerer. When I grew up and got into computers I used that as my screenname. I didn't know what had happened to him. He just one day up and left my life so I was kind of bent on finding him. Everything lead me to the Praetorian Guard and Copper Canyon. Once they found out I knew their secrets they wanted me gone. But I'd found out another key piece of evidence. Angela's father also worked for them. So I contacted her to see if she knew anything..." Jacob stopped, realizing that he'd just outed himself and Angela.

Now Jane Faraday was watching him with an even more intent interest. She was staring at him, and so was Walter.

"Yes, I talked to Dr. Vecchio the other day. He told me what you said," Jane said with a smirk.

"I'm sorry," Jacob looked toward the ground. "Yes, it's true."


	10. Chapter 10

The Net: Dog: Chapter 10

"What's true?" Walter asked clueless as to what they were talking about.

"Angela's not my sister."

"WHAT?! But your file..."

There was nothing more Jacob could do now except to explain the facts as they had really happened. He felt ashamed because he'd created another fake identity for Angela. But one meant to protect her, not send the cops chasing her to arrest her.

"I...let me tell the story. I'll explain everything."

"So you lied with the last long story you gave us," Jane suggested.

"Not entirely. No. Look, I contacted Angela, gave her a message I immediately wanted to take back. I was hiding under my screenname. I knew no one could track me. But she wasn't. She was a programmer, the best in the world, but she didn't know the extent of the information I was giving her. Once The Praetorians caught wind of her, they had to catch her so their secret wouldn't get out. They had her real name so they changed it to that of Liz Marx, a known felon, so that if she ever escaped their grasp the cops were sure to pick her up and they could swoop down and grab her. That's why Sean Trelawney had so many fake ids.

"They didn't know I wasn't my father. They just knew someone going by the name of Sorcerer who had worked for them in the past was walking around with secret information and they wanted me dead. So they tried to use Angela to get to me. But she didn't know who I was for a long time. I helped her a lot, and we managed to foil the Praetorian's new plots every time, but they were still after us. When she got to New York where I was living I let her know who I was and we began working together in person to take them down.

"The last time I saw her, we'd gathered some friends and finally had a location of their headquarters. We were going in to get Angela's identity back. I called the FBI to let them know that Liz Marx would be there at a certain time, knowing she'd have her own identity back by then and they would finally learn about the Praetorian Guard. It was a fool proof plan. Except I didn't think about communication. Angela went down underneath the travel agency with Mariano and I stayed on top, using codes to break down doors so she could have access. I didn't have any contact with her and that was my fault. I should have thought of it.

"If I had, maybe they wouldn't have been able to grab her and escape out the back door. Maybe they wouldn't have hurt her for three years while I slogged through FBI training and a new job, trying to act normal while inside I was falling apart with worry. Wondering where she was, and what had happened to her. For three years they were using her to search for me. I knew someone was looking for me on the internet, but I had no idea it was her. It wasn't her hand print on the searches so I didn't think it was her. I thought it was some kid who'd heard about the great Sorcerer online and wanted to find me to get my autograph or something. Not that that would ever happen. It wasn't until I found her that I realized her hand prints wouldn't be on those searches because the Praetorians were right behind her watching her search for me. She was doing what they asked, but she was still hiding from me to protect me. Doing what they wanted, but coming up empty every time."

Jacob sighed, his hands trembling. For Walter's benefit, he continued the story, "For three years they told her her name was Elizabeth Marx. They erased her memory some how. She doesn't know who I am. She doesn't know who Angela Bennett is. When I broke her out of there and changed her identity back, I knew I had to do something to keep her safe from the world. Making her my sister was the only thing I could think of, to ensure no one would try to take her away from me. I didn't want her to be hurt again."

Everyone was silent for a long time. Jacob could feel both of them watching him and he didn't know what to do. He'd just bared his soul to his boss and his boss's boss. Things couldn't go well from here. He tried to calm down and get his trembling hands under control but nothing seemed to work. Finally he held his hands out to Jane.

"Arrest me if you want. I know I killed all of them in the mansion. I meant to. They deserved what they got. And if you have to arrest me for that, then go ahead. I wouldn't have done anything else."

"Put your hands down," Jane said. "I believe I still have more evidence to give you."

Jacob looked up at her with surprise. She hated him, he knew that. So why wasn't she arresting him? It made no sense.

"I had the CSIs dig up back cases on Liz Marx. What they found was interesting. Her files said she'd committed several crimes worth going to prison for. But there was no evidence of any kind to prove it. There was nothing else in her files either. No address, no family, no nothing. It's like she only existed to commit crimes and then disappeared. Your story is holding true Resh."

Hope springs eternal.

"I've got a judge looking at all the evidence outside of the courtroom right now to determine what should happen with you. Since you've revised your story some, I'll need you to go downtown and repeat it all to an officer who will record it for the judge. And please, take a shower before you go."

✢

"Since it's been a few days," Dr. Vecchio said as Jacob sat in his office in the comfortable chair opposite the psychologist. "I would like to see you two interact."

Jacob stared at the man in complete surprise.

"What? I thought you couldn't...didn't want to..."

"Well, I do. I've seen you a few times, I've been observing Angela and I want to observe you two together."

"But why? I'm confused."

"Because, I need to see how you interact to be able to determine what should happen to her. Please be aware that while you're with her, I will be watching you and listening to everything you say. And this does not mean you will be leaving with her today. It does not mean you will ever leave with her. That will take awhile for me to decide. Don't get her hopes up. You will have fifteen minutes with her. No more. You also may not give her anything. I don't care what it is. She gets nothing. Understand?"

"Yes," Jacob managed to choke out, too shocked and excited by the chance to see her again.

Dr. Vecchio lead him out of the office to another door just past the viewing room they'd been in before. He opened a heavy metal door and motioned Jacob inside before closing it behind the FBI agent.

Jacob found himself in the stark white padded room he'd seen Angela in several days before. Her padded white bed was in the left corner ahead of him, and there was Angela, curled up in a ball, in his pajamas in the right corner, her head buried in her knees. She hadn't even seen or heard him come in. Jacob walked forward a few steps, moving slowly. It had been a long while since he'd been in a room with her. She was still pale and thin, but her bruises had started to go away at least. No one was hurting her here. He thanked God for that. He stepped closer but didn't want to startle her.

"Angel?" he called out in a near whisper.

Slowly she raised her head and looked at him. There was still a small amount of fear in her eyes coupled with confusion and that feeling of being lost he'd seen a few days ago. She stared at him, before rubbing at her eyes with her fingers. She looked at him again.

"Jacob?" her voice was tentative, quiet, but he heard her.

He walked quickly to her side and fell to the floor. He thought he'd been dry as the desert but now tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over the edge down his face.

"Yes, I'm here," he choked out. "I'm here."

Without thinking, he wrapped her up in his arms and pulled her towards him in a tight embrace. Her arms reached out slowly, as if she was unsure what to do before she'd returned the hug.

"You remembered," he voiced when he finally let her go.

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I forgot you, to protect you."

This was the most she'd ever said to him. Probably the most she'd ever said to anyone in three years. His heart soared. He felt like he was sitting on a cloud just then. She'd remembered him after all. And she was talking. There was hope after all. If the doctor had any sense at all he would be sure to release her into Jacob's custody. She would be ok.

"It's ok. Everything's going to be ok. They're gone now. All of them are dead. They can't hurt you anymore," he reminded her.

Above everything else he wanted to tell her how the case was going, that there was a chance she could go home with him if things passed with the doctor and the judge, but that would give her false hope if it didn't happen. He didn't want to think about how much that would hurt her if he told her there was the possibility of her going home with him and then it didn't happen. This time he would be the cause of her pain. And he didn't want that.

"They know you're not my sister now," he told her instead. "It kind of came out by accident. I was only trying to protect you. I'm sure they'll change your name back."

Angela shook her head but didn't say anything, looking agitated.

"They'll only take off my last name. They know you're not Liz Marx. It's ok."

She visibly relaxed a little.

"You need to tell Dr. Vecchio what happened. That can only help."

She looked up into his eyes, fear suddenly filling hers as she curled back up into a ball and tried her hardest to disappear into the corner.

"Baby steps, I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Angel. It's ok. You don't have to tell him anything," he sighed. "I'm doing my best to get you out of here, but I can't promise anything. The cops think I had something to do with what happened to you the past three years. I'm trying to get us both out of this situation. But I can't do it alone. I need you to help me."

Angela tore her eyes away from his and looked down into her lap, at her freshly bandaged wrists. The look in her eyes told him she was ashamed for something, that she didn't feel she could help.

Jacob reached out and gently took her wrists in his hands. She tried to pull away but his gentleness kept her there.

"What happened, Angel?" he questioned.

She stared at her wrists and didn't respond.

"Come on. You can tell me. I won't get mad at you or anything. I promise," Jacob begged. He took her chin in his hand and raised her head so her eyes met his. "Please?"

Angela only shook her head and averted her eyes to the white padded floor.

"Jacob?" Dr. Vecchio's voice broke the silence and Jacob looked up to see the man standing in the doorway.

It was time to go and it was breaking his heart to have to leave her there alone. He looked back at Angela who refused to look at him.

"Angel, before I go, I need to give you something." That got her attention. She raised her head to look at him. Jacob could feel tension coming from the other side of the room, from the psychologist. "It's not something physical," he clarified for both of them. "But it's all I've got." Their eyes met, and hers seemed locked onto his for the first time since he'd walked into the room, as if she wouldn't take them away for anything, no matter what he said. "I love you, Angel," he whispered. "And don't you ever forget that. No matter what happens. Ok?"

She nodded her head and he got to his feet. At the door he stopped and turned back to see Angela staring after him, the look in her eyes clearly saying she didn't want him to leave. His heart broke into a million little pieces once again as Dr. Vecchio pulled him from the room and shut the door.


	11. Chapter 11

The Net: Dog: Chapter 11

Jacob sat in the back of another police cruiser as he was driven to the Chicago Hospital of Mental Health once again the following week. Dr. Vecchio had called earlier that day and invited him over for dinner, explaining that he was to have dinner with Angela. The good doctor had had nurses attempt to teach Angela how to use utensils and eat properly but they'd failed. He wanted to see how Jacob would do. To watch them interact again to see if there was any hint of past abuse from Jacob, and also to see if Jacob could indeed teach her to eat more successfully than his nurses.

When he arrived there was a small square table set up in an otherwise empty room just down the hall from Angela's white padded room. Two chairs had been placed at either end. Two sets of silverware accompanied two napkins and two full glasses of water. The doctor told Jacob to have a seat and he would bring Angela out in a few minutes.

When he brought her in she looked unsure of herself. She'd showered not even an hour ago and her hair was still wet. But it didn't matter to him. Even in his over large pajamas on her small frame she was still the woman he'd fallen in love with so many years ago. He knew this was a new setting for her, and knew it would be awkward for both of them.

When she sat down the doctor nodded at Jacob and left as a nurse brought them each a plate of macaroni and cheese along with peas and green beans. Food Angela probably hadn't had in three years. It would be near impossible and messy to eat the pasta with her fingers so there was no way the Praetorians would allow that on her menu.

"Dessert will be out when you're ready," the nurse said before leaving them alone, closing the door on her way out.

Angela looked up from her plate of food to Jacob sitting across from her.

"Hi," he said, not knowing what they should talk about, or if he should just dig in and start eating. She was still thin, but she looked a little better than the last time he'd seen her. She wasn't as pale anymore and some bruises had disappeared all together. He was happy for that. She no longer had bandages around her wrists too. Now he could clearly see the stitches it had taken to sew up her deeply cut skin, could see the scar tissue that had finally begun to grow.

"Hi," she whispered, still looking unsure of the whole situation.

"It's ok," Jacob told her. "I know you haven't done this in awhile, but you'll catch on quickly. Just follow me and do what I do."

Jacob picked up his fork and stabbed a few pieces of macaroni and cheese and ate them. Angela watched him before looking down at her utensils and studying them a few seconds before selecting the fork. She held it as if she was holding a knife and about to stab something. She attempted to get some pasta onto her fork but it hit the edge of the plate and slipped from her sweaty grip. She looked up at Jacob and then back down at her plate in shame.

"Here, hold it like this," Jacob held up his fork to show her.

She shook her head. He got up and went around the table to stand behind her. He picked up her fallen fork and gently took her right hand in his and positioned the utensil correctly in her hand. She carefully watched his movements as he proceeded to take her hand with the fork and scoop up some of the macaroni and cheese.

"See, it's not that hard," he said, letting her hand go as it stayed in the air, holding the fork with the pasta on it.

Some of the piled high pasta fell off, back onto the plate. She quickly shoveled the rest into her mouth before dropping the fork back to the plate and chewing, thoughtfully, savoring the food she hadn't had at the mansion.

Jacob went back to his seat and picked up his fork, but he didn't take another bite. Instead, he watched Angela struggle to get the hang of her fork. This was one thing he couldn't understand. How could someone forget how to eat with utensils? But then, he hadn't been trapped with the Praetorians for three years forced to eat with his hands crappy food that probably shouldn't even go to the birds. He could only be patient with her, take his time, and help her out the best he could.

Thinking about it, he'd ended up staring at his own plate for a few seconds. The clatter of a fork meeting a plate brought his head up with a snap.

"I can't do this!" Angela cried out before abruptly standing up and knocking her chair to the floor. She turned and ran for the corner of the room where she hugged her knees to her chest and tried to disappear.

Jacob waited only a second before following her to the corner and sitting down beside her. Tears streaked down her face as he turned to face her. He gently brushed them away with his thumb.

"Yes you can. Angel, I know you can do this. It may take a few tries, but you'll get the hang of it. I promise."

Angela shook her head and stared at the ground though she looked like she had something to say.

"Tell me what's wrong," Jacob coaxed. "You can tell me anything. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong." When she didn't respond he continued, "Angel, this is not the Praetorian mansion. You're not going to be punished for saying something. Even if you tell me you hate me and want me to go away and leave you alone. I will do anything you ask. But you have to talk to me."

Without looking at him she slowly began to speak, "It's not just...not just this...it's...everything...I know I wasn't...wasn't always...like this...but...but...I don't remember how I was...I remember knowing you...but not the specifics...I remember having a life...but not what it was..."

"Don't you worry. We'll take baby steps and I'll be with you every step of the way. Eventually you'll be yourself again. It'll be alright. You won't need to face the world until you feel good and ready. Until then, you can drop your fork as many times as you'd like."

A small smile found it's way to her lips and she raised her eyes to his.

"You...you mean it? I...I feel like...like a bumbling idiot..."

Jacob put an arm around her and pulled her close. "Of course I mean it. I wouldn't have said it otherwise. And you're not a bumbling idiot. You're a smart woman. Now, what do you say we find out what's on the menu for dessert?"

"But what about dinner?"

"Who cares. It's probably cold now anyway. And some nice comfort food would be great right about now, for both of us." Jacob stood up. "You stay right here and I'll be right back."

He went to the door and found the same nurse who'd delivered dinner waiting outside with two cups of cold chocolate pudding.

"That our dessert?"

"Yup."

He took them from her and set them on the table. Angela started to get up as he placed a spoon in each cup.

"Stay right where you are honey, the dessert is coming to you," he smiled.

"But...Dr...Ve..."

"Baby steps, Angel. Remember? If it's more comfortable over here because it's what you're used to, you can learn to eat over here instead. Learn one thing at a time. Sitting at a table is overrated anyway and besides, chocolate pudding is more fun to eat and easier."

He gave her one of the cups and she took it in her hands.

"Now, watch me. I'll make this simple and easy."

He grasped his spoon like a baby in a highchair would and spooned chocolate pudding into his mouth. Angela watched him and then did the same, successfully getting most of the pudding into her mouth. A small bit landed on the tip of her nose. Jacob grinned.

"I should have thought to bring a camera," he laughed.

She frowned.

"You've got pudding on your nose," he said, reaching out to wipe it away with his finger.

Angela pulled away, back into her corner, watching him.

Jacob was left wondering what he'd done to upset her.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Angel. I...don't know..."

She only shook her head and looked sadly down at her pudding before setting it down on the floor and wrapping her arms around her knees.

He'd forgotten about everything, about the past three years. What they'd done to her. In one second he'd forgotten. And now she was curled up in a ball in the corner, trying to get as far away from him as possible. All over one simple movement. Just the chocolate pudding on her nose. Nothing more.

Jacob could feel hot stinging tears pricking at his eyes when the door opened with a loud creak. Angela buried herself into the corner and refused to look up. Dr. Vecchio stood in the doorway motioning for Jacob to leave. Slowly the FBI agent put down his pudding and got to his feet. He wanted to talk to Angela so that he wouldn't be leaving on a bad note. But he was sure she wouldn't listen to him. She wasn't even watching him leave as he slowly walked away, his head still turned to face her.


	12. Chapter 12

The Net: Dog: Chapter 12

Together Jacob Resh and Walter Cizelski sat in Dr. Vecchio's waiting room, waiting to speak to the doctor. Inside his office they could hear several voices arguing over something.

"Look, I don't have any reason for this not to happen!" Dr. Vecchio's voice came through the wall. "From everything I've seen he's telling the truth. And she trusts him. A lot more than she trusts me and the rest of the staff."

"And the CSI's report doesn't say anything about him physically hurting her from what I read," another male voice said.

"That would be Judge Hollister," Walter clarified in a whisper.

"They're talking about our case. Angela's case," Jacob sounded surprised. "So that's why they wanted both of us here. They're talking it over and they're going to tell us what's going to happen. Oh God..." Jacob was suddenly nervous. "What if...what if..."

"Shut up!" Walter hissed. "And calm down. If you want this to come out in your favor, you've got to act calm and professional. If you break down now there's no way they'll release her into your custody."

Jacob choked back a sob and sat up straight, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves.

The door opened and Jane Faraday stood there, staring at them a moment before motioning them to enter the room.

"Ah, Agent Cizelski," the older judge greeted Jacob's boss with a handshake before turning to him. "And you must be Agent Resh." They shook hands.

"Yes, Sir," Jacob replied, feeling like a child to the man, even though his white hair and plaid button down shirt did make him seem friendly.

Everyone was crammed into the tiny office sitting on folding chairs in a circle. Two chairs were left, and Jacob gratefully sat down in one next to Walter, unsure how well he would be able to stand up if the news turned bad. He was afraid he was already a little light headed from his nerves. He clasped his hands together in his lap and refused to let them go.

"So, I suppose we should get started here," Jane said. "For the record, I want everyone here to know that Angela's real and full name is Angela Marie Bennett. The Resh which was added on has been taken off." She turned to look directly at Jacob, staring deep into his eyes. "You're one very lucky man," she said, her voice intimidating enough to make him nearly wilt under its power. "CSI cleared you. And with all that rubble, I have not a clue how they figured out what really happened. But they say you're clear."

Relief hit Jacob in the head like a twenty pound hammer and he struggled to stay sitting upright, to look as if nothing was wrong.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank the evidence. Because I wouldn't have been so nice."

Jacob nodded and looked over at the judge and Dr. Vecchio who had yet to speak.

The psychologist spoke up first, "Jacob, I don't know how you did it, but you managed to make a connection with Angela when my nurses, and myself, couldn't. You managed to get her to at least attempt to eat with silverware, when my staff couldn't. I know the last time you were here things didn't end on a happy note. That's to be expected. But you've always been there for her, and that's what she needs, to know that someone will always be there for her, no matter what.

"Right now, she's going through a rough time, after three years of being treated like an animal now she suddenly has to relearn human behavior. She will never be the same way you knew her years ago. Because of the way they treated her, she will always have a flight or fight mentality. In her case, it will be more of a flight than a fight, but with enough patience and time she might regain enough of her old self to hold down a possible job. Maybe. There are no guarantees about any of this. As you probably know already, even the smallest of things could set her off. What you view as normal could have her hiding in a corner."

Jacob nodded, remembering the chocolate pudding on Angela's nose, just when he thought he'd gotten close to her. But he didn't understand why the doctor was going into such detail to him specifically and not to everyone in the room.

"It's been awhile since you've last seen her and her stitches have come out. She hasn't tried anything since that dinner, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. As I said, even the smallest of things could set her off and have her trying to cut her wrists again. You should be careful to keep all sharp objects away from her as much as possible. And always keep an eye on her."

"You look confused," Judge Hollister commented. "You've been cleared by the CSI. I personally looked over the evidence myself and could find nothing to arrest you on. I looked over Dr. Vecchio's notes here, and found nothing that says she can't go home with you."

Jacob stared at the judge in shock. Surely they weren't granting his wish? Surely the judge hadn't just said she could go home with him? That she was being released into his custody? Jacob wasn't sure whether he should be up out of his seat and jumping for joy or...or what? He was still in shock, too surprised to move a muscle, let alone get up and dance around the room.

"Angela is being released into your custody under one condition," the judge said. "A psychologist will visit you both once a week and report back to me. If it looks like anything wrong is happening, if she cuts her wrists once, she'll be brought back here within a heartbeat and you will be denied visitation rights. Understood?"

Jacob could only nod his head as thoughts raced through his mind. Angela was being released to him. He was being allowed to take her home and care for her. No one would ever hurt her again, as long as he lived. Of course, his apartment was too small for both of them. He hated the thought of having to move her too many times. But he would take her home if he could, get her settled in for awhile and do some apartment hunting. They needed a place big enough for both of them, but also one where he could work from. A home office, a big home office was important. A place with lots of windows. No. No, he would have to get Angela's opinion about the windows. Though he wanted a place that was sunny, and happy, if she didn't want...

"Jacob?" Dr. Vecchio brought Jacob back to the present. "Angela's in her room and a nurse is waiting to let you in if you'd like to tell her the news."

"Yes, yes I would," Jacob stumbled over his words as he stood up.

Walter grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze before he was out the door and standing in front of Angela's room. He took a fast breath and walked in to find Angela in her usual place. He stopped in the middle of the room not wanting to intrude on her personal space after their last encounter.

"Angel?" he breathed, his heart racing.

She looked up from her lap with sad eyes. When she saw who it was, she blinked but didn't take her eyes away from him. She was wary of him, on her guard, and it made him sad. She shouldn't have to be that way. Not around him. He was there to help her. To protect her.

"Angel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that dinner to turn out that way. I just forgot. That's all. And I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again. I promise."

Her gaze fell to the floor in front of her, letting her guard down. Jacob walked over to her and sat down in front of her, leaving two feet between them.

"I know you might never forgive me for any mistakes I may make. But that's ok. I respect that. I'm going to be doing the best I can to help you get better from here on out."

She looked back up at him with questioning eyes.

"Both Dr. Vecchio and the judge assigned to the case have agreed to release you into my custody."

He waited, letting that sink into her mind to see what her reaction would be. Her face betrayed no emotions but then she spoke, "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm learning. And everything is scary."

"No, Angel. No. You have nothing to be sorry for. After what that sonofabitch did to you." Jacob felt the tears coming to his eyes again, and wanted nothing other than to hold her tight. But he was afraid to move any closer. He wanted everything to go smoothly. This was a big event. And nothing could go wrong. "You'll remember the sun," he said through his tears. "You'll remember life."

✢

Several nights later after Jacob had gotten into his makeshift bed on the couch he lay back and thought about the past few days. They'd been given a private jet on loan from the FBI to get them back home to Seattle, Washington that much quicker. Angela had been silent the entire way home. She'd been quiet a lot lately, in her own world. But he couldn't really blame her. This was a new situation for her. His apartment was a new place and he'd broken the news only a few hours ago that he would be looking for a bigger place and he wanted her help in the search.

He was beginning to learn to read her body language as if she was speaking to him. She'd nodded her agreement to the new place, but she hadn't been happy about it.

Really though, there was nothing he could do. He only had one bed here. They needed a larger place. Once there, all the moving would be over and she could finally settle in for good and get comfortable. She could finally have a place she could call home.

For now, he was just doing his best to get her used to sleeping in a bed again. The morning before when he'd gotten up he'd found her curled up in the corner with a blanket wrapped around her. He'd found the same thing again this morning, but he was sure with time she'd adjust. Time was what she needed.

Jacob yawned and closed his eyes as he slowly began to fall asleep, glad to know that she was finally safe. No one would ever touch her again.

The sound of something hard falling on the coffee table in front of the couch he was sleeping on, broke Jacob out of his deep sleep. Struggling to sit up, he wiped the sleep from his eyes and was surprised to find Angela curling up beside him under the blanket.

"Angel?"

On the table he saw what had woken him up and his heart stopped beating. He stared at the object, remembering Dr. Vecchio's words back at the Chicago Hospital for Mental Health,

"_She...she...tried to cut herself. Several times. That's why we put her in here. She represents a danger to herself and to everyone else right now...We thought maybe it was just an accident that first time. But she did it again the next day. And the next. We moved her here, but she's determined to get those bandages off. She wants out of this world, and I'm doing all I can to keep her here as long as possible."_

Then he remembered the scene from the kitchen earlier that day when Angela had accidentally knocked a glass off the table. He saw it shattering in slow motion on the floor and remembered picking up the pieces, telling Angela that it was ok, that she wasn't in trouble for anything.

This was the closest she'd willingly gotten to him, and the closest she'd willingly been to sleeping in a bed. He had to give her that. But inside, his heart was trembling. What had she done? Looking back at the glass he realized there was no blood on any of its sharp edges. She hadn't done it. She hadn't cut herself.

He looked down at her in his arms and found her as close to him as she could get with her head buried in his chest. She'd willingly taken the first big step towards getting over what the Praetorians had done to her. She'd given up the glass and come to him. Even if she wasn't talking to him Jacob knew everything was going to be ok. It would take a long time, but everything would be ok.

Letting her get comfortable in his arms as she fell asleep he laid his head back down on the pillow above hers and thanked the world for everything he had right there.

**The End**


End file.
